Weaver Ant Nest
Given that Thailand is blessed with a fair collection of biting and stinging creatures, many of them quite venomous, you might be surprised to know that I find ants in Thailand a real pain(quite literally) when it comes to my quality of life here.
While snakes, scorpions and centipedes can and do occasionally inflict a fatal bite, for the main these creatures can be avoided or at the very least human contact with them can be minimised since unless you seek them out they will happily co-exist with you. Indeed most bites from such creatures occur when they are being poked or prodded by some inquisitive individual.
Ants in Thailand on the other hand cannot be avoided. Whether you are lying on the beach, relaxing in your home or doing a bit of gardening the voracious little insects will find their way uninvited into even the most intimate of personal places .
Species of Ant in Thailand.
I’m not sure how many species of ants there are in Thailand but I reckon I can visually identify quite a few different ones. They get everywhere, from the tiny, minuscule almost invisible ones that invade your home and form voracious little circles around even the smallest crumbs you drop on the floor right up to quite large species that live outdoors in every nook and cranny waiting to pounce on an unwary foot or finger.
Two species that I can identify and do regularly see are Tropical Fire Ants and Weaver Ants.
Tropical Fire Ants.
The larger vicious Tropical Fire Ants, mod-kun-fai in Thai, that I occasionally find in the garden when I am working outside are venomous little critters that only seem to attack if you disturb them. Unfortunately this can include just standing in the wrong place and once a worker stings you it seems to trigger a frenzy in the group resulting in multiple attacks. The stings of the Fire Ant are extremely painful and last for a while, causing red welts and even blistering on the skin. People react in different ways to the venom and a worst case scenario can result in the need to visit the doctor or pharmacy for treatment.
The Weaver Ant
An equally cantankerous ant is the Weaver Ant(today’s photo). Fortunately Weaver Ants are in the habit of building their nests in bushes where they work together to construct a home using a silk like material that the workers produce to stick the leaves together. So unless you inadvertently brush against a nest they usually leave you alone.
However if you do come into contact with a Weaver Ant, they will bite and continue biting until you leave them alone. Take a look at a larger version of the photo and you will see that although they don’t have a stinger they do have quite large mandibles to help them inflict some pain. They are not venomous but the bite is extremely painful since the ants also produce chemical irritants that they massage into the bite with their bodies.
Ant Trivia
In some parts of Thailand Weaver Ant nests are regularly raided by rural Thais seeking out the pupae(ant eggs) to eat themselves or sell at market. You can check out this recipe for an ant egg soup to see what I mean.
They are also used as none chemical “pesticides,” where Weaver Ant nests are often introduced into fruit orchards so the ants can eat the harmful pests that attack tropical fruit here in Thailand.
Finally one thing that I have personally learned about ants since I have lived in Thailand is that they are extremely good weather forecasters. Long before a tropical downpour arrives(sometimes days) you will see colonies on the move transporting ant eggs and the queen to a new safer location.
And, no, before you ask, I don’t suffer from Myrmecophobia(fear of ants) but I have developed a healthy respect for ants in Thailand and just what they are capable of.
How about you?
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