A member of the genus Ochetellus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, it was described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862.

Aside from Australia, O. glaber has been introduced to a number of countries, including China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States, where it has established itself in Hawaii and Florida.

It is both diurnal and nocturnal, forming long trails from trees in search of food such as honeydew and insects.

It has been intercepted numerous times in the United States, where it has the potential to disrupt the biological control of certain pests and cause long-term ecological impacts in areas where it is not native.

Ochetellus glaber was originally described as Hypoclinea glabra by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in his "Myrmecologische studien" in 1862.

[1] The ant was described from syntype workers and males Mayr collected from Sydney, Australia, now preserved in the Natural History Museum, London.

[3] In 2011, evidence emerged that O. glaber represents a species complex, indicating that the current taxa may need to be split.

[7][8] Despite the similarities, I. itoi remained a valid species until a 1995 publication confirmed its synonymy with O. glaber.

The integument (a tough outer protective layer of an organism) are spinulose, bearing small spines.

In India, it has been collected from the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.

[28][29] It is abundant yet localised species in Orange County, being found in dead wood or in tussocks of marsh grasses.

[19] It lives in open areas or savannah woodland, nesting under stones or old dry logs, or else in hollow trees, plant stems or rotten wood.

[31][32] O. glaber is omnivorous, forming long trails on tree trunks to seek sweet substances such as honeydew and to hunt insects.

[33] O. glaber consumes carcasses of dead birds, sea turtles, parrot fish, fruit fly pupae and diamondback moth larvae.

Foraging workers often visit flowers for nectar, chiefly those of Pisonia, but also of Canavalia, Commicarpus, Ipomoea, Melanthera, Plumbago and Scaevola.

[37][38] O. glaber also associates with some insects, including the pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus brevipes) and aphids, which they import and tend with other bugs on domestic pot plants.

[12][32] It enters human homes to gather food, tracking across ceilings, beams and joists and drops ant debris onto surfaces below.

[43] Therefore, the California Department of Food and Agriculture have intercepted the ant in nursery stock and fresh plants from Hawaii.

California is especially vulnerable to O. glaber infestation because the state's climate resembles that of those regions where the ant already lives.

Nonetheless, O. glaber is unlikely to lower crop yields, increase farming costs, degrade water supplies, or likely disrupt Californian agricultural commodity markets.