Small workers, usually only 2–3 millimetres.
Fine-art photographic collection
Ooceraea biroi
A queenless society in which nearly every adult can reproduce clonally.
About this species
Clonal raider ant
Ooceraea biroi(Forel, 1907)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Ooceraea biroi is the clonal raider ant, a small doryline that has become a major model for studying social organisation. Colonies lack queens; workers reproduce by parthenogenesis and synchronise reproduction with cooperative brood care.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Dorylinae · Ooceraea
Source checked · checked 2026-07-15
Tropical Asia and introduced tropical regionsBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
Probably native to tropical Asia but now spread widely through tropical and subtropical commerce.
Leaf litter, soil, rotting wood, gardens and disturbed tropical habitats.
Colonies alternate between a reproductive phase and a foraging phase linked to brood development.
Brood of other ants and small arthropod prey.
Queenless colonies composed of genetically very similar reproductive workers.
What makes this species remarkable?
Almost every adult worker is capable of laying clonally produced eggs.
Colony activity is synchronised into brood-care and reproductive phases.
Its unusual biology has made it a laboratory model for social evolution.