Ants

ALLEGHENY MOUND ANTS

Allegheny Mound Ant

DESCRIPTION

The Allegheny Mound Ant (Formica exsectoides) is a type of ant native to the Atlantic area of North America. Often very striking in appearance, these ants have a red-orange head and thorax with black-brown gasters. They have 1 node. Mound ants are generally between 1/8” – 1/4” long.

CARPENTER ANTS

Carpenter Ant
Photo Credit: Tom Myers

DESCRIPTION

Workers are large (1/8-1/2”) but vary greatly in size, Queens about (1/2-5/8”) Colors vary from black, red and brownish or black and red. Carpenter ants are 1 noded ants with an evenly rounded thorax. Development time (egg to adult) takes at least 60 days. There is only one wingless queen per colony. Colonies contain up to 3,000 workers when maturity is reached in about 3 to 6 years. Swarmers (winged) are not produced until the colony is at least 2 years old.

PHARAOH ANTS

Pharaoh Ant
Photo Credit: April Nobile

DESCRIPTION

The Pharaoh Ant is a tiny ant about 1/10-1/16” long. Worker ants are reddish-yellow, the queen is usually darker red and males are black.

Key Characteristics

Small size with 3 segmented club on antennae, well-developed eyes, a bi-nodal petiole (narrow waist between thorax and abdomen) and no stinger present.

Food

Omnivorous, feeding generally on animal or vegetable food, dead insects, small animals, open wounds, shed human skin on bedding, sucrose and IV solutions, sweets and fats.

Ants can fly, and that’s not all!

Although flying ants may be more anxiety-inducing than their wingless counterparts, they don’t represent any greater threat. Here’s what you need to know about these small critters. Why do some ants have wings? The ants you see scurrying around on the ground are wingless females. They do all the work within the colony, but are…

How ants can damage your home and how to get rid of them

Ants never give you the warm fuzzies, but of the various species, the common carpenter ants are the most destructive to your home. They dig through the wood in the structure of your house to make safe spaces to hide. Once inside, they keep burrowing and can destroy insulation and any wood in your home,…

Test Your Knowledge: Carpenter Ant Quiz

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Test Your Knowledge: Little Black Ant Quiz

We created this fun quiz so that you can test your knowledge on Little Black Ants! Take the “Little Black Ant Quiz” below and compare your answers to the answer key at the bottom of this post. Good luck! Little black ants are ________ nodded ants.12  When do Little Black Ants swarm?Spring/summerSpring/winterSpring/fallAll the time Little…