Oecophylla work for free, non-stop (night and day) for growers, protecting their mango, citrus and cashew nut trees against their many pests.

These red ants or weaver ants act as natural control agents (conservation biological control), by virtue of:
(i) the repellent left on fruits that discourages fruit flies and other pests,
(ii) their predatory effect on the larvae of fruit flies and other mango pests such as seed weevils, and on other pests (bugs on cashew apples),
(iii) their well-known aggressivity towards the terrestrial that sustain other fruit tree pests.

Preserving aerial Oecophylla nests and distributing these tireless, hugely efficient beneficials to all orchards has become a necessity in Benin and elsewhere, in order to promote agro-ecological orchard management as quickly as possible. This is yet another argument against using synthetic insecticides, since the enconomic-ecological balance is always negative.

In short, we strongly recommend preserving and disseminating Oecophylla through the mango, citrus and cashew orchards of West Africa. The protection and optimum management of Oecophylla ants in those orchards is key to improving fruit quality in West Africa (Florence Anato's thesis) and to boosting production (Rosine Wargui's thesis). Knowing how to foster the development of Oecophylla colonies (Issa Ouagoussounon's thesis) is consequently a major asset for neutralizing mango, cashew and citrus pests in West Africa.