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other (Peng et al. 2010). Thus, weaver ants which belonged to the same colony liked
each other and did not fight, while those of different colonies fought to death (Plate
1). Trees occupied by members of the same colony were marked with tags of the
same colour. All colonies existing in the same area were mapped.
5.2 Oecophylla longinoda Colony Collection
and Transportation to Experimental Fields
After mapping the colonies, searches for a nest containing weaver ant queen for
each colony were done using the procedures developed by Nene et al. (2017). The
queen nest was harvested alongside other workers’ nests, kept in aerated cloth bags
and transported to experimental cashew fields for release (Fig. 2). It is recommended
that colony harvesting should consider a mandatory inclusion of the queen because
a colony without a queen may not be established, and if they do, they would last for
only 6 months (Peng et al. 2010). Colonies with O. longinoda queen usually live for
up to 7 years.
Plate 1 Battle among O.
longinoda of different
colonies that leads to
deaths of many
Fig. 2 Harvesting of O. longinoda, packaging for transportation and introduction by hanging
G. M. Rwegasira et al.