This manual offers you a highly exciting discovery voyage about the life of weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina), how you can make best use of them to protect your fruit and other tree crops and hence how to save money. Because the focus is on practical aspects based on improved insights of underlying ecological principles, the book will appeal in particular to farmers, university students, NGO workers, extension staff and all those engaged in communicating agricultural sciences to farmers. All the topics covered are based on a huge amount of scientific knowledge and farmers' expertise. Mind you, depending on the crop and climate where you live, slight differences may occur, so it is important to observe for yourself and learn from the local experts such as the farmers.

On the FFSnet database a summarised version of the book is available in English, Bahasa Indonesian and Vietnamese .

For a full version of the book you can contact Paul Van Mele ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Please indicate what language you wish to receive.

Correct English Citation: Van Mele, P. and N.T.T. Cuc, 2007. Ants as Friends: Improving your Tree Crops with Weaver Ants. Second Edition. Africa Rice Center (WARDA), Cotonou, Benin, and CABI, Egham, UK. 72 pp.

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