Ants - ADAM'S Pest Info and Identification

GENERAL INFO:

Vary in color, red, black, brown, yellow or combinations of these colors.

Have a complete life cycle: Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult. There are no “baby” ants.

They are social insects, living in colonies containing 3 distinct castes: Queen, Workers and Males.

Workers are females, never with wings. They can be 3 sizes: minor, media and major. They do all the work of the colony: gather food, care for the young and enlargement and protection of the nest.

Males exist solely to inseminate the queen and will usually die within 2 weeks of mating.

Queens, which are usually the largest ants in the colony, function to establish new colonies and lay eggs.

For most species of ants, the colony will contain many functional females or queens, but only 1 founding Queen.

Generally, un-mated functional females have wings; mated females will chew them off after finding a suitable site for a new colony.

Many species start new colonies by a process called “Swarming;” winged females and males (called Winged Reproductives) fly off and mate, usually in late spring/early summer. Some species do not swarm, but go through a process known as “Budding;” in which a group of workers will take some larvae and pupae and go off to a suitable location and start a new colony.

TWO NODE ANTS:

PAVEMENT ANTS

SOIL DWELLING

# of Node Segments: Two

# of Sizes of Workers: One

Size of Workers: 3/16 inch

Shape of Thorax: Uneven

# of Antenna Segments: 12

Antennal Club: 3-segmented club

# of Pairs of Spines on Thorax: One

Color: Dark brown

Other ID tips: Grooves are present on head and thorax. Stinger present at tip of abdomen. Commonly encountered under slab foundations (townhouses etc.), sidewalks, patios etc.

PHARAOH ANTS

# of Node Segments: Two

# of Sizes of Workers: One

Size of Workers: 1/16 inch

Shape of Thorax: Uneven

# of Antenna Segments: 12

Antennal Club: 3-segmented club

# of Pairs of Spines on Thorax: None

Color: Yellow with reddish abdomen

Other ID tips: Cannot survive outdoors in Minnesota. Nest in moist areas, close to food and water. Nests can be very large, Stinger present at tip of abdomen

THIEF ANTS

# of Node Segments: Two

# of Sizes of Workers: One

Size of Workers: Tiny 1/32 inch

Shape of Thorax: Uneven

# of Antenna Segments: 10

Antennal Club: 2-segmented club

# of Pairs of Spines on Thorax: None

Color: Yellow

Other ID tips: Stinger present but very small, Prefer food with high protein. Often confused with Pharaoh ants (key difference is the antennal club). Will sometimes nest near or in the nests of other ants.

ONE NODE ANTS:

There are many, many more species of ants, but these are perhaps the most common in our area.

CONTROL:

Control methods vary from ant to ant and from situation to situation.

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	*CARPENTER ANTS* STRUCTURE DWELLING # of Node Segments: One # of Sizes of Workers: Many Size of Workers: 1/8 to 5/8 inch Shape of Thorax: Evenly rounded, lacks spines # of Antenna Segments: 12 Antennal Club: None Tip of Abdomen: Has circle of hairs, no stinger Color: Varies with species; black, brown, red, red/black Other ID tips: Do not go by size or color. Look for evenly rounded thorax, and circle of hairs at tip of abdomen. Often confused with Field Ants
	*FIELD ANTS* SOIL DWELLING # of Node Segments: One # of Sizes of Workers: Many Size of Workers: 1/8 to 3/8 inch Shape of Thorax: Not evenly rounded, no spines # of Antenna Segments: 12 Antennal Club: None Tip of Abdomen: Has circle of hairs, no stinger Color: Brown, Black, Reddish or combination Other ID tips: Make very large mounds outdoors. Often confused with Carpenter Ants
	*CORNFIELD ANTS* # of Node Segments: One # of Sizes of Workers: One Size of Workers: 1/8 to 1/4 inch Shape of Thorax: Uneven, lacks spines # of Antenna Segments: 12 Antennal Club: None Tip of Abdomen: Has circle of hairs, no stinger Color: Brown to very dark brown Other ID tips: Eyes large, no ocelli (simple eyes) present on top of head. Inside, they are associated with a preexisting moisture problem.
	*YELLOW ANTS* # of Node Segments: One # of Sizes of Workers: Many Size of Workers: 1/4 inch Shape of Thorax: Uneven, lacks spines # of Antenna Segments: 12 Antennal Club: Gradually enlarges to tip Tip of Abdomen: Has circle of hairs, no stinger Color: Yellow-orange Other ID tips: Workers give off citronella or lemon odor when crushed. Nest in soil outside, or in damp, moist, rotted wood inside
	*ODOROUS HOUSE ANTS* # of Node Segments: One # of Sizes of Workers: One Size of Workers: 1/8 inch Shape of Thorax: Uneven # of Antenna Segments: 12 Antennal Club: None Tip of Abdomen: No circle of hairs, no stinger Color: Brown to black Other ID tips: Node is hidden by abdomen. Workers give off a rotten coconut smell when crushed. When disturbed the workers will erratically run around with their abdomens raised up. Multiple queens

Pest Identification And Information

General Ant Identification

GENERAL INFO:

TWO NODE ANTS:

ONE NODE ANTS:

CONTROL: