Ants are a eccentric of small louse with three distinguishable body parts , six peg , and two antennae . contraband emmet are the most common type ; however , ant metal money can also be gloomy brown , tan , or crimson colors . Some types of swarming pismire also formulate wing . But most ants are tiny creepy-crawly crawlies that get around by walk .
Small ant and large pismire are social insects that live in large colony . Therefore , if you spot a few ants in your home or garden , the chances are that there are hundreds of pismire nearby . Ants can become a nuisance pest in homes or gardens . These diminutive bugs can inflict abominable confidence trick and chew through wood , electrical cables , or detachment .
This article is a comprehensive guide to identifying common types of pismire you ’re potential to encounter at home or in the yard . recognize how to identify an ant specie can aid you understand how to get disembarrass of the tiny crawl insects .
How to Identify Ants
Ant identification is by their color , size , and body shape . Ants have three pairs of legs and three identifiable torso constituent — the head , thorax , and belly . Some ants have tumid , bulgy heads and belly with a fragile chest . The common names of some ants describe their appearing and habits .
For example , small odorous ants , black household emmet , little black emmet , crazy ants , and white - footed pismire are type of ants where their coarse names help identify their characteristics .
Types of Ants With Pictures and Names — Identification Guide
Let ’s depend in detail at the identifying feature article of vulgar types of emmet .
Pharaoh Ant (Monomorium pharaonis)
A close up flick of the miniature tiny Pharaoh ant
The pharaoh pismire is a pocket-sized light brownish or orange - xanthous ant that can become a substantial pestilence in buildings . The tropical ant measures around 0.078 ” ( 2 mm ) long . The tiny browned pismire has a large dark brown to black bulblike abdomen and two distinctive golf club antennae .
Pharaoh pismire dwell in with child colony and have several red - colored queen ants per colony . The pismire feed on sugary and greasy foods and can infest wall nihility , furniture , and under floor .
It is said that an ant bait consist of 1 percent boric back breaker and sugary water system can pour down pharaoh ant .
Ant Identification
Pharaoh ants have lissom , light brown , almost semitransparent eubstance with a large ball - similar blackish belly .
Small Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile)
expatiate icon of the small perfumed menage ant that emits foul smell when crushed
The little odorous house emmet is dark or chocolate-brown and quantity between 0.06 ” and 0.12 ” ( 1.5 – 3.2 mm ) . The petite pismire are recognized by their stomach ( gaster ) that is closely joined to the thorax . This feature defecate the abdomen come out pointed downward .
perfumed house ant typically feed on honeydew — acommon sign of aphidson houseplants or garden shrubs . The best way to preclude odorous ant from infesting home is to keep botany and flora grow aside from construction .
The small sweet-smelling house ants got their vernacular name because of the filthy odor they emit when crushed . These pocket-sized black ants are also anticipate the stink emmet for the same reason .
The brown odorous house ant is distinguish by its oval abdomen , triangular head , and section antennae .
Black Household Ant (Ochetellus glaber)
The small black menage emmet can also be dark dark-brown , depend on the species
Thetiny bleak family antcan be jet dim or dark brown , depending on the subspecies . Black household ants quantify 0.08 ” to 0.11 ” ( 2 – 3 mm ) long . The ants have curved antenna , and their leg may appear yellow . Up close , pictures of the dim emmet show they have a crumple look and big colonial eyes .
The petite bootleg or brown home pismire run on sugared liquids and you ’ll often find these common menage invaders in the bathroom , kitchen , or wash way . out of doors , the ants feed on honeydew , nectar , and other insect . The pitch-black emmet are usual in Florida and other states in the southerly US .
The black menage emmet is a tiny ant that can be brown - black or sinister brown in semblance with a narrow waist , sylphlike chest , and gravid belly .
Little Black Ant (Monomorium minimum)
The little disastrous ants are mutual in dark position in the house and garden
The little grim ant is a type of little jet - disastrous pismire measuring 0.04 ” to 0.078 ” ( 1 – 2 mm ) long . The tiny black emmet is recognized by its two - segmented shank ( pedicel ) , clubbed antennae , cut , and ball - like , glistening black abdomen . The tiny disgraceful ants subsist in medium - sized colony .
Little black emmet are witness throughout the United States , especially in California . The small black ants dwell dark-skinned places in railway yard under log and piles of brick . You ’ll get the little fateful pismire inside homes in paries vacuum , behind baseboard , or in masonry crevices .
Little black ants are identified by their bright dim bodies , club antennae , and lilliputian size .
Black Carpenter Ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus)
The big inglorious carpenter ant can damage wooden furniture and structures
Carpenter ants are some of the big black ants , measuring 0.23 ” to 0.5 ” ( 6 – 13 mm ) long . The large sinister emmet have whitish hairs on their torso and a striped venter . Additionally , the ant have characteristic elbowed antennae and six chocolate-brown - black legs attached to the thorax .
Carpenter pismire get their name from their wont of excavating all in wood . Unfortunately , this intend that the destructive black bugs can damage piece of furniture and even stimulate structural price over time . To keep a carpenter ant encroachment , reduce humidness and keep moist Natalie Wood away from structures .
The black carpenter pismire is a large ant with a dull black physical structure , fuzzy abdomen , and smooth thorax .
Pavement Ant (Tetramorium)
Pavement ants include many species . In the picture : Tetramorium caespitum
The pavement ant is a common sullen chocolate-brown emmet that can sting humans . The slight browned emmet has a rounded heading , oval brown venter , and cut . These little brownish insects measure 0.1 ” ( 3 mm ) long and are difficult to spot due to their minuscule size .
Pavement emmet expand in sand and soil and favor to live under sidewalk , driveway , and patios . Inside homes , you may notice pavement ant nests in basements . Unfortunately , the ants run to nestle underground , makinggetting free of the brown bugschallenging .
A pavement ant is recognise by its sullen Robert Brown to black body with recognisable ridges and o.k. hair on its head and thorax . Pictures of the chocolate-brown ant show it has a cut at its tail end .
Black Garden Ant (Lasius niger)
The modest shameful garden emmet is coarse in many constituent of the world
predict the common bootleg ant , this small shameful insect measure around 0.2 ” ( 5 mm ) long . Sometimes a dingy brown color , the common garden ant has identifiable erect hairs on its antenna and top ramification division . In addition , some pitch-black ants have a faint banding around their abdomen and a thin waistline .
The ignominious garden pismire is the species you are likely to get hold in your yard . The male fly ants can sometimes come up their way into homes . This can attract hordes of more ants to come foraging for fresh food .
The common black garden ant has a recognizable black , protuberant abdomen attached to the thorax by a thin waist and six dark brown legs .
Related reading : How to Control Ants in the Garden
Banded Sugar Ant (Camponotus consobrinus)
The orange - brown and mordant band sugar pismire is comparatively large and is incur in forests and mansion
The banded saccharide emmet is dismal chocolate-brown to black and has a light - colored hoary brown band around its abdomen . measure 0.2 ” to 0.6 ” ( 4 – 16 mm ) , the big brownish ant has a shining opprobrious triangular principal , egg - mold chocolate-brown and calamitous abdomen , and coppery - chocolate-brown legs .
The banded sugar ant is native to Australia . You will also regain colony of sugar pismire snuggle under bush , dead Sir Henry Joseph Wood , and in the ground . The blackened and orange - brown ants also make nest mounds above ground .
A banded boodle emmet appear to have a rusty brown band on its black belly . The orangish - brownish emmet has a black promontory and brown leg .
Yellow Meadow Ant (Lasius flavus)
The picayune yellowish meadow ant feeds onaphidshoneydew
The yellow meadow ant is a common small yellowish - brown ant mintage , evaluate 0.78 ” to 0.15 ” ( 2 – 4 mm ) in duration . The meadow ant has a yellow-bellied head , thorax , and abdomen ( gaster ) , which is darker at the edges . The antennae are 12 - segment and end in a three - segmented club .
The chicken meadow ants are not particularly strong-growing and often nest under careen or slab . These tiny yellowish - brownish ant also protect aphids as they like to course on the honeydew . You may find them in garden when they create a ground dome for a nest .
The yellow meadow pismire has an identifiable yellowy - brown coloring material and an eggs - forge yellowish abdomen with fine setae ( hairs ) at its tail end .
Fire Ant (Solenopsis spp.)
The ardor pismire is a lowly red ant that can cause a painful stinging
The fire ant is a common stinging slender pismire discover by its dark brown to red vividness and aggressive behavior . The foul small crimson ants have a copper - brown head and thorax and obscure reddened abdomen . Additionally , they have two ten - segmented antennae with two - segment lodge . The low red ants evaluate 0.8 ” to 0.23 ” ( 2 – 6 mm ) .
flaming ants can be find in Texas , Alabama , and other state in the southern US . The tiny ardor ants are known for their painful stings that do painful sensation , like being combust by blast . Red fervency ants nest in the grease or dome - shaped mounds and can attack when disturbed .
The small red fire ant is easily identify by its ruby - brown colouration , two bleak eye , exceptionally slender chest , and large reddish - brown venter .
Crazy Ant (Paratrechina)
A magnified photo of the long legged screwball ant ( Paratrechina longicornis )
The crazy ant is a species of pocket-size dark brown to pitch-dark emmet with whitish setae and passing long antennae . These midget , fast - go ants assess 0.9 ” to 0.11 ” ( 2.3 – 3 mm ) and have an unevenly rounded pectus . little crazy emmet are known for their erratic , speedy motion .
dotty pismire are a metal money of tropic ant commonly found outdoors in Florida and the Gulf states . However , the reddish - brown half-baked ants also live in the theater in temperate climates . As a result , they are a serious nuisance gadfly and forage on household foods , yield , plant honeydew melon , and seeds in many area .
These half-baked ants can be extremely difficult to get rid of .
A demented ant is distinguished from other pismire by a long pair of antennae , chocolate-brown - black color , and thin legs with relatively few hairs on them .
Ghost Ant (Tapinoma melanocephalum)
The diminutive ghost emmet is identify by its sullen browned caput and beige translucent abdomen
The wraith ant is a species of petite dark brown and creamy white ant common in Florida . The ghost ant is identified by its dark brown nous and thorax , sick translucent abdomen with faint dark pattern . These unmanageable - to - spot diminutive pismire quantify 0.05 ” to 0.08 ” ( 1.3 – 2 mm ) long .
wraith ants are a common household pest in Florida , Texas , and throughout the US . touch ants are coarse household encroacher and they can be found in kitchen , bathrooms , and other humid areas . They typically snuggle outside but will forage indoors if conditions are suitable and wet is present .
A ghost pismire is identified as a diminished chocolate-brown pismire with a yellowish venter , milklike livid antennae without clubs , and six transparent legs .
Red Wood Ant (Formica rufa)
The scarlet wood ant has a sinister belly and make large nests in the forests
The red Natalie Wood ant is identified by a black belly and ruddy pectus , black and red head , and farsighted contraband legs . This type of smallblack and red ant speciesmeasures 0.17 ” to 0.35 ” ( 4.5 – 9 mm ) . The red ant have short , elbowed antennae .
Also called thatch ant , Natalie Wood pismire , mound ants , and field of study ants , the ants are found in deciduous woodland throughout the United States . The low ants create declamatory ant hills , sometimes several feet high . The busy ants typically eat on aphids and are important in forestry direction .
The small red Ellen Price Wood ant is identified by a reddish - brown capitulum and pectus , a glowering brown or disgraceful abdomen , and blackened branch . The red ants are easy to spot in forests because they appear in large identification number .
Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile)
The brown Argentine pismire can be a serious house pest
The Argentinian pismire is a bantam , brownish - colored ant measuring 0.06 ” to 0.11 ” ( 1.6 – 2.8 mm ) long . The light to dark chocolate-brown pismire has a distinguishable single node between the abdomen and thorax and two bands over the abdomen . Another feature of the Argentinian pismire is its tan legs and segmented antennae .
Argentinian ants are an encroaching metal money and a significant blighter in urban surface area . The pesky insects invade homes during dry or hot conditions and grass for food in kitchens . There can sometimes be 100 of these brown ants scurrying over floor .
Argentine ants are small , light to grim brown ants with pale brownish legs and golf-club - less antennae with 12 segment .
Leafcutter Ants
Leafcutter ants can be discover in South and Central America , and southern USA
Leafcutter ant be of over 40 ant species that abbreviate leaves with their submaxilla ( mouthparts ) to stockpile them back to the nest . The common identifying lineament of leaf - chewing emmet is how hundreds of the dirt ball carry folio parts in line of products , one after the other .
In some places , leafcutter ant can be serious farming blighter . For example , some species can deprive citrus tree bare in less than 24 hours .
The speciesAtta sexdens , is a eccentric of red emmet with a wide , rounded promontory , slender thorax , and small , round belly . The crimson ant criterion around 0.04 ” to 0.08 ” ( 1 – 2 mm ) long . The largest of the red leafcutter ant can have a head over 0.11 ” ( 3 millimetre ) wide .
Red Harvester Ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus)
The crimson harvester pismire has Cu - brown organic structure and are often confused with fire ants
The red reaper ant has a large , red to brown torso with a rounded , bulbous abdomen and stretch pectus . These copper - brown big emmet measure 0.19 ” to 0.27 ” ( 5 – 7 mm ) long . Identifying features of the harvester ants are fine seta on its back and abdomen , small calamitous eyes , and reddened elbowed antennae .
Because of their red visual aspect , crimson harvester ants are gentle to mistake for unrelated firing emmet . metal money of reaper ants are common in Texas and other state throughout the US and Canada . Although these are ruby stinging ants , they rarely sting .
The red harvester emmet is a large reddish - brown ant with two 12 - segmented antennae and fine hair on its head . The flushed pismire are easy to recognize in a landscape because they construct enceinte , mounded nests .
White-Footed Ant (Technomyrmex albipes)
The small-scale white - foot ant can be found in forests as well as homes
The white - footed ant is a small opprobrious ant with six black pegleg and creamy - white tips . Typically , the muted inglorious ants valuate 0.08 ” to 0.16 ” ( 2 to 4 millimetre ) long . Identifying features of the white - footed ants are two 12 - segmented antenna , five abdominal segments , and ok seta on its back .
livid - footed ants look like Argentine ants and are often confused with crazy ants . The black and bloodless emmet is unwashed throughout Florida , Louisiana , Georgia , and South Carolina . It is considered a blighter when it infests indoor spaces .
The whitened - footed ant has identifiable bloodless leg and a black head , thin thorax , and egg - shape brownish - black abdomen .
Pyramid Ant (Dorymyrmex bureni)
The pyramid ant has orangish - red body and let out bad odor when crush
The Pyramids of Egypt emmet is intermediate - sized with a pale orangey - red or pale - yellow soundbox , club - less antennae , no sting , and a svelte consistence . The emmet is not consider aggressive . However , it emits a foul stench of rotten coco when crushed . The little to medium - size ants measure out 0.8 ” – 0.16 ” ( 2 – 4 mm ) long .
Common to Florida , the pyramid ant is not classified as an aggressive pismire , unlike red fervency ants . rather , the small reddish - brownish emmet with their midget black eyes feed on honeydew , other insects , and live alfresco in nests they construct in pitcher of guts .
The Pyramids of Egypt ant is a slim orangish - cerise ant with six sparse orange legs , foresighted 12 - segment antennae without a defined golf club , and a pyramid - shaped forcing out on the chest .
LearnHow to Control Ants in the Garden .
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