Distribution and Nest Occupancy Patterns of Oecophylla Smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Colonies in Southeast Asian Oil Palm Plantations

Data related to the study of the Asian weaver ant colony distribution in large oil palm plantations canopies nationwide in Malaysia-Indonesia. Colony growth development stage status. Some definitions for (i) incipient, (ii) immature, (iii) pre-matured, (iv) matured Oecophylla smaragdina colonies: An incipient is an embryonic colony identified as occupying only 1 palm within 1 to 3 months. The term immature is an innovative description to distinguish among the four determined growth of development stage of the Asian weaver ant. Pre-matured refers to the colonies newly reproductive emergence since the first release corresponding to a not yet acquired population dynamic stability. The matured colony is above 3 years of age with a notified stable population dynamic suitable for manipulation i.e. nest capture and translocation to unoccupied plantation blocks (by the Asian weaver ant colonies) in the case of a sudden defoliator’s infestation outbreak. The objectives included (1) documenting the distribution of O. smaragdina colonies and estimating the boundaries of colonized palms, (2) investigating colony occupancy patterns in relation to the presence of the nest network in the canopy, (3) visually distinguishing between barrack and brood nests by comparing their stand heights from the ground, and (4) estimating the age of colonies in relation to the average total number of nests and total number of occupied trees per colony. 1. Asian weaver ant nest distribution pattern in oil palm trees from selected plantations (Malaysian Palm Oil Board MPOB Teluk Intan, Perak - Universiti Malaya, Felcra, Boustead plantations Kota Tinggi Sg. Arah Johor - ) 2. Investigation of Oecophylla smaragdina growth stage development as : incipient immature pre matured and matured colonies based on the number of occupied palm trees over time from first month to about 4-5 years of colony age. 3. Determination of colonies age by Pearson correlation coefficient and Poisson Probability analysis. 4. Study of the visual distinction between the brood and barrack nests of the Asian weaver ant colonies in the occupied oil palm plantation in South-East Asia (Malaysia-Indonesia). The discriminant analysis DA determined the height from the ground represented the nest location in the palm canopies as being the main factor helping to visually identify the brood from the barrack nests. The brood nest are located at higher position from ground with a range of 6-15 meters and the barracks nests are located at a range of 4 to 5 m in this study. This is done first time. This is in conjunction for future biological control trial on the invasive bagworm species Metisa plana (defoliator) causing serious yield fresh fruit bunches loss with low quality for over two years period.

本数据集关联马来西亚-印尼全国大型油棕种植园冠层中亚洲织叶蚁（Asian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina）种群分布研究，以及蚁群生长发育阶段状态相关数据。

针对亚洲织叶蚁的四类蚁群阶段：初建群、未成熟群、预成熟群、成熟群，定义如下：初建群为胚胎期蚁群，仅占据1株油棕树，形成时长为1至3个月；未成熟群为本研究提出的创新术语，用于区分亚洲织叶蚁的四类生长发育阶段；预成熟群指首次繁殖后刚形成的蚁群，尚未达到种群动态稳定性；成熟群则指龄期超过3年、种群动态稳定且可进行人为干预的蚁群——例如在突发性食叶害虫暴发时，可采集其蚁巢并迁移至未被蚁群占据的种植园地块。

本研究的核心目标包括：1. 记录亚洲织叶蚁种群的分布情况，并估算被蚁群占据的油棕树的分布范围；2. 探究蚁群的占据模式与冠层内蚁巢网络分布的关联；3. 通过对比蚁巢距离地面的高度，视觉区分兵蚁巢与育幼巢；4. 基于单蚁群的平均总蚁巢数与占据油棕树总数，估算蚁群的龄期。

本数据集包含以下四类研究内容：
1. 选定种植园（马来西亚棕榈油委员会MPOB霹雳州打扪园区、马来亚大学合作地块、Felcra种植园、柔佛州哥打丁宜双溪亚拉Boustead种植园）内油棕树上的亚洲织叶蚁蚁巢分布模式数据；
2. 基于蚁群形成后1个月至约4-5年龄期内的占据油棕树数量，探究亚洲织叶蚁生长发育阶段（初建群、未成熟群、预成熟群、成熟群）的演变情况；
3. 通过皮尔逊相关系数与泊松概率分析，确定蚁群龄期的相关研究数据；
4. 东南亚（马来西亚-印尼）区域油棕种植园内亚洲织叶蚁育幼巢与兵蚁巢的视觉区分研究数据。本研究通过判别分析（Discriminant Analysis, DA）证实，蚁巢在油棕冠层中的离地高度是实现二者视觉区分的核心因素：育幼巢离地高度范围为6-15米，兵蚁巢则为4-5米。本研究为全球首次开展此类系统性研究，相关成果将用于后续为期两年以上的生物防治试验，以应对入侵性食叶害虫茶蓑蛾（Metisa plana）——该害虫会导致油棕鲜果串产量严重下降、品质劣变。