[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":385},["ShallowReactive",2],{"species-sheet-\u002Fspecies\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives":3},{"species":4,"profile":244,"countryNames":283,"lookalikes":299,"similar":303,"posts":365},{"id":5,"authority":6,"colonyStructure":7,"confidence":8,"countries":11,"defense":27,"diet":30,"difficulty":33,"dryHumidity":34,"escapeRisk":35,"estimated":36,"experience":41,"extension":42,"finder":43,"founding":44,"growth":45,"guide":34,"hibernation":46,"hibernationMonths":34,"hibernationTemperature":34,"humidity":47,"image":50,"imageCredit":51,"imageHeight":55,"imageWidth":56,"interests":34,"keptSince":34,"legal":57,"lookalikes":60,"majorSize":34,"maxWorkers":63,"meta":64,"nests":65,"nuptialFlightMonths":34,"nuptialFlightTime":34,"nuptialFlightTriggers":34,"polymorphism":69,"queenSize":70,"regions":73,"relatedPosts":76,"reviewedAt":59,"scientificName":80,"sources":81,"stem":228,"subfamily":229,"temperature":230,"tribe":233,"workerSize":234,"__hash__":237,"slug":238,"genus":239,"nickname":240,"aliases":241,"tagline":243},"species\u002Fspecies\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives.yml","Smith, 1857","polygyne",{"biology":9,"husbandry":9,"nuptialFlight":10},"medium","low",[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26],"CN","TW","IN","JP","ID","MY","TH","VN","PH","SG","LK","MM","KH","AU","PG",[28,29],"bite","acid",[31,32],"sugar","insects","5",null,"high",[37,38,39,40],"temperature","workerSize","queenSize","maxWorkers","compiled","yml",false,"semiClaustral","fast","none",[48,49],60,80,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives.jpg",{"author":52,"license":53,"url":54},"Philipp Hoenle (myrmecophil)","CC0 1.0","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inaturalist.org\u002Fobservations\u002F189789233",800,1200,{"status":58,"checked":59},"free","2026-10-11",[61,62],"Polyrhachis ammon","Oecophylla smaragdina",3000,{},[66,67,68],"naturalistic","acrylic","ytong","monomorphic",[71,72],9,12,[74,75],"asia","oceania",[77,78,79],"keeping-semi-claustral-ants-the-ant-pod","you-should-have-a-vivarium-the-ant-pod","when-ant-colonies-grow-out-of-control-the-ant-pod","Polyrhachis dives",[82,88,94,99,103,107,111,115,119,123,129,133,137,141,145,149,153,157,161,165,169,173,178,182,186,190,194,198,202,207,211,216,220,224],{"type":83,"title":84,"url":85,"covers":86},"paper","Yamauchi et al. (1987), Kontyû 55(3): Polycalic colonies of the weaver ant Polyrhachis dives (nests on Okinawa with up to 594 queens, nest exchange and a polycalic colony of about a million workers)","https:\u002F\u002Fcir.nii.ac.jp\u002Fcrid\u002F2051151841965830784",[87],"biology",{"type":89,"title":90,"url":91,"covers":92},"reference","AntCat: Polyrhachis dives Smith, 1857 (valid species of the subgenus Myrmhopla; Polyrhachis vicina Roger, 1863 is a junior synonym)","https:\u002F\u002Fantcat.org\u002Fcatalog\u002F445641",[93],"taxonomy",{"type":83,"title":95,"url":96,"covers":97},"Liu et al. (2017), Mitochondrial DNA Part B 2: Characterization of mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic implications for Chinese black ant, Polyrhachis dives (also known as P. vicina; range, edible and medicinal use)","https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC7799532\u002F",[93,98,87],"distribution",{"type":83,"title":100,"url":101,"covers":102},"Jong (2008), National Taiwan University thesis: Models of division of labor and expression of biological clock in the colony of gray-black spiny ant, Polyrhachis dives (colonies in nature are queenless, monogynous or polygynous, and are founded by budding or independently)","https:\u002F\u002Fscholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw\u002Fentities\u002Fpublication\u002F73b87ca9-c429-4ed8-a15c-5f1deedac838",[87],{"type":83,"title":104,"url":105,"covers":106},"Lenoir and Dejean (1994), Insectes Sociaux 41: Semi-claustral colony foundation in the formicine ants of the genus Polyrhachis (genus-level evidence for foundress queens that 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caresheet (worker length 5.4-7.7 mm and queen length 8.7-9.3 mm after Kohout 2010, heat stress above about 33 C after Chung and Lin 2017)","https:\u002F\u002Fantscout.com\u002Fspecies\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives",[87,128],"husbandry",{"type":124,"title":130,"url":131,"covers":132},"Ameisenhaltung.de Artenverzeichnis: Polyrhachis dives (climate, polygyny and polydomy, growth, escape warning)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenhaltung.de\u002Fartenverzeichnis\u002Fentry\u002F275-polyrhachis-dives\u002F",[128,87],{"type":124,"title":134,"url":135,"covers":136},"Ant Shack: Polyrhachis dives care sheet (temperature gradient, humidity, founding phase, feeding)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ant-shack.com\u002Fpages\u002Fencyclopedia-entry\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives",[128],{"type":124,"title":138,"url":139,"covers":140},"Ant Shack: Polyrhachis dives, Asian spiny weaver ant (the common name, silk nests, brood development of about 6-8 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to about 3,000 workers)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bestantsuk.com\u002Fpost\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives-weaver-ants-care",[128,87],{"type":124,"title":158,"url":159,"covers":160},"FormicaMarket: Polyrhachis dives care sheet","https:\u002F\u002Fformicamarket.com\u002Fen\u002Fant-database\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives\u002F",[128,87],{"type":124,"title":162,"url":163,"covers":164},"Ants R Us: Polyrhachis dives, queen with workers (climate, diet, colony form)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antsrus.com\u002Fproduct-page\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives-queen-with-workers",[128],{"type":124,"title":166,"url":167,"covers":168},"Antkeeping.info: Polyrhachis dives (worker size and country list)","https:\u002F\u002Fantkeeping.info\u002Fants\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives\u002F",[87,98],{"type":124,"title":170,"url":171,"covers":172},"The Wild Martin: Polyrhachis, the spiny ants (founding, nest types, Polyrhachis dives nest style)","https:\u002F\u002Fthewildmartin.com\u002Fant-ecology\u002Fpolyrhachis-the-spiny-ants",[87,128],{"type":174,"title":175,"url":176,"covers":177},"forum","Photos and Info on Ants and Termites of Malaysia: The Golden Ants Polyrhachis (most Polyrhachis queens are semi-claustral foundresses; Polyrhachis dives woven nests)","https:\u002F\u002Ftermitesandants.blogspot.com\u002F2009\u002F09\u002Fgolden-ants-polyrhachis.html",[87],{"type":174,"title":179,"url":180,"covers":181},"Ameisenforum: Polyrhachis dives (Weberameisen), Haltungserfahrungen (2008 colony from a starter package, feeding, escape barrier)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenforum.de\u002Fviewtopic.php?f=214&t=33434",[128],{"type":174,"title":183,"url":184,"covers":185},"Ameisenforum: Das Leben meiner Polyrhachis dives (21 replies, setup, climate, food, escapes through a small gap)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenforum.de\u002Fviewtopic.php?f=214&t=55045",[128],{"type":174,"title":187,"url":188,"covers":189},"Ameisenforum: Polyrhachis dives, Haltungserfahrungen inkl. Baubericht eines Tropenformicariums (frozen prey accepted, live prey ignored)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenforum.de\u002Fviewtopic.php?f=214&t=40912",[128],{"type":174,"title":191,"url":192,"covers":193},"Ameisenforum: Haltungsbericht Polyrhachis dives (three gynes, heated nest basin ignored, colony that stagnated)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenforum.de\u002Fviewtopic.php?f=214&t=57775",[128],{"type":174,"title":195,"url":196,"covers":197},"Ameisenforum: Polyrhachis dives (HB) - Die spinnen doch! 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It shares the name with the Oecophylla weaver ants, but the two belong to different tribes and build differently: Oecophylla workers form chains to pull living leaves together, while Polyrhachis dives needs much less teamwork and builds nests of silk, carton and plant debris.",{"question":260,"answer":261},"How big can a Polyrhachis dives colony get?","In the wild it can be huge. A survey on Okinawa found that neighboring nests exchanged colony members, so that many nests formed one polycalic colony of about a million workers. Captive colonies stay much smaller, from several hundred up to a few thousand workers in keeper reports, but they grow fast and need a lot of vertical space.",{"question":263,"answer":264},"Is Polyrhachis dives the same species as the Chinese black ant, Polyrhachis vicina?","Yes. Polyrhachis vicina Roger, 1863 is a junior synonym of Polyrhachis dives Smith, 1857, so research and traditional-medicine texts that use the name vicina describe the same ant. In that literature it is called the Chinese black ant, and it has been used as a traditional edible insect and in Chinese medicine.","Black workers, all of one size, with a silvery to golden sheen from the fine hairs on the gaster and the sharp spines on the thorax and the petiole that give the genus Polyrhachis its name. When disturbed they sit back on the gaster with its tip pointed up, ready to spray acid, and unlike the long-legged, orange or green Oecophylla weaver ants they are black and spiny.","en",{},true,[270,273,276,278],{"kind":271,"text":272},"tip","Give them a tall setup with cork bark, twigs, moss and dry plant material, and let them weave their own nest. Keepers report colonies moving into a cork piece, a hollow seed pod or a cavity in wood, while a heated nest basin offered to them was ignored at first.",{"kind":274,"text":275},"watchOut","Seal the setup completely and do not rely on an oil film alone. One keeper saw a worker, startled by a twitching cricket, race far up an oiled glass wall before slipping back, and a new colony vanished through a small gap into the electronics of a thermometer housing. Keepers combine an oil or PTFE barrier with talcum, a tight lid and fine gauze.",{"kind":271,"text":277},"Offer pre-killed prey. Frozen crickets were accepted as readily as fresh ones, and one colony ignored live prey altogether. The workers are also very thirsty and hungry, so keep a water dish in the outworld at all times and expect a lot of food to disappear.",{"kind":274,"text":279},"Do not expect to start with a single founding queen. Colonies reach hobbyists as offshoots with a queen or a few queens and their workers, and how lone queens found a colony is poorly documented. Keep the starter colony in a small space: one keeper whose colony stagnated suspected that the offered space was far too big.","\u002Fspecies\u002Fpolyrhachis-dives",{"description":251},"51lMbnvKxUn1oL6gB8ij7X5CeDUnMqonFvsxva01cAk",[284,285,286,287,288,289,290,291,292,293,294,295,296,297,298],"Australia","Cambodia","China","India","Indonesia","Japan","Malaysia","Myanmar (Burma)","Papua New Guinea","Philippines","Singapore","Sri Lanka","Taiwan","Thailand","Vietnam",[300,301],{"name":61,"slug":34},{"name":62,"slug":302},"oecophylla-smaragdina",[304,324,345],{"slug":305,"scientificName":306,"genus":307,"nickname":308,"aliases":309,"tagline":311,"image":312,"experience":41,"guide":34,"difficulty":313,"workerSize":314,"majorSize":71,"queenSize":316,"temperature":318,"hibernation":46,"hibernationTemperature":34,"hibernationBand":46,"sizeClass":9,"founding":320,"colonyStructure":321,"regions":322},"myrmecocystus-mexicanus","Myrmecocystus mexicanus","Myrmecocystus","Mexican honeypot ant",[310],"Golden honeypot ant","A nocturnal desert ant whose swollen workers hang from the ceiling like golden jars to store the colony's sugar.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmyrmecocystus-mexicanus.jpg","6",[315,236],4,[72,317],15,[319,232],26,"claustral","monogyne",[323],"northAmerica",{"slug":325,"scientificName":326,"genus":327,"nickname":328,"aliases":329,"tagline":332,"image":333,"experience":41,"guide":34,"difficulty":33,"workerSize":334,"majorSize":34,"queenSize":336,"temperature":338,"hibernation":340,"hibernationTemperature":341,"hibernationBand":342,"sizeClass":9,"founding":44,"colonyStructure":7,"regions":343},"myrmica-rubra","Myrmica rubra","Myrmica","European fire ant",[330,331],"Common red ant","Ruby ant","A feisty red ant of damp meadows that lives in sprawling multi-queen colonies and defends its nest with a nettle-like sting.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmyrmica-rubra.jpg",[315,335],6,[235,337],7,[339,231],18,"required",[235,236],"cold",[344,74],"europe",{"slug":346,"scientificName":347,"genus":348,"nickname":349,"aliases":350,"tagline":352,"image":353,"experience":41,"guide":34,"difficulty":313,"workerSize":354,"majorSize":34,"queenSize":356,"temperature":359,"hibernation":46,"hibernationTemperature":34,"hibernationBand":46,"sizeClass":362,"founding":44,"colonyStructure":363,"regions":364},"harpegnathos-venator","Harpegnathos venator","Harpegnathos","Giant jumping ant",[351],"Primitive jumping ant","A sharp-eyed, sickle-jawed hunter that freezes, wiggles its gaster and then leaps onto its live prey.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fharpegnathos-venator.jpg",[355,339],14,[357,358],16,20,[360,361],24,28,"large","facultative",[74],[366,373,379],{"id":367,"title":368,"description":369,"image":370,"categoryText":371,"path":372},"blog\u002Fkeeping-semi-claustral-ants-the-ant-pod.md","Keeping Semi-Claustral Ants - The Ant Pod","Semi-claustral queens need food from day one. Lynn and Jake share what they learned founding Manica rubida and Myrmica rubra colonies, and how to set them up.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fthe_antpod_semi_claustral_ants_44.jpg","Podcasts","\u002Fkeeping-semi-claustral-ants-the-ant-pod",{"id":374,"title":375,"description":376,"image":377,"categoryText":371,"path":378},"blog\u002Fyou-should-have-a-vivarium-the-ant-pod.md","You Should Have A Vivarium! - The Ant Pod","Why a vivarium (VIF) is worth it for exotic ants: heat wires with thermostats, probe placement and how to get your colonies through a heatwave.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fthe_antpod_vivarium_41.jpg","\u002Fyou-should-have-a-vivarium-the-ant-pod",{"id":380,"title":381,"description":382,"image":383,"categoryText":371,"path":384},"blog\u002Fwhen-ant-colonies-grow-out-of-control-the-ant-pod.md","When Ant Colonies Grow Out of Control! - The Ant Pod","What do you do when an ant colony gets too big? Lynn, Jake and Alex cover overcrowding, cleaning large outworlds, diet control and downsizing.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fthe_antpod_ant_colonies_out_of_control_40.jpg","\u002Fwhen-ant-colonies-grow-out-of-control-the-ant-pod",1791900227124]