Ants

Ants are classified in the Formicidae family, which is within the same Order as wasps and bees, Hymenoptera. There are over 12,000 described species of ants, but there are believed to be more than 10,000 species of ants that have not yet been identified.  

While there are several thousand species of ants, their anatomies do consist of the same general characteristics. Ants range between 3/100 of an inch to 2 inches in length and consist of three body sections or regions (the head, thorax and abdomen). Most ants are black or red. All ants have two elbowed antennae. Some ants have wings, others do not, and others start out with wings and eventually lose them. The size, shape, color and features of each ant are dependent on their sex (male or female) and their position in the ant society (queen, female worker, female reproductive or male)

Like all other insects, ants have exoskeletons, do not have a heart or lungs and lack closed blood vessels.  Ants have an open circulatory system, like other insects. Oxygen and other necessary gases are pumped into the ant through spiracles, which are tiny valves in the exoskeleton, rather than circulated, by blood, as in mammals. Instead of a heart, the dorsal aorta – a thin tube that runs lengthwise down the body – distributes haemolymph (“blood”) towards the head and the rest of the body cavity. The ventral nerve cord acts as the nervous system with its ganglia extending to the ants’ extremities.

Ants have a head characterized by a pair of strong jaws, known as mandibles, which are helpful in carrying food, defense, and manipulating or moving objects for survival or social needs. There is also a pair of compound eyes, which are made up of a number of tiny interconnected lenses. Their eyes are good for small movement but not for high resolution or distant traveling.  Ocelli are light detecting organs on the head that use polarized light from the sun to aid in direction.

The head attaches to the thorax, which is the center of locomotion. Every ant has six legs and all six are attached to this section of the body.  There is a hooked claw at the end of each leg. These claws are useful in hanging or climbing.  Reproductive ants have wings and the wings are also attached to the thorax. Ants that have wings have two sets, one front pair and one hind pair. Unlike termites, whose wings are all the same size, the ant’s front wings are bigger than the hind wings.

Connected to the rear of the thorax is the third body section the abdomen.. This section contains the organs of reproduction, digestion and excretion. 

The most common ants found in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area are the Odorous House ant, the Pavement ant, the Cornfield ant, the Pharaoh ant and the Carpenter ant. (Although not indigenous to the New York area, the Red Imported Fire ant is analyzed here as well for its uniqueness.)

Below are some distinguishing characteristics of each species.

Carpenter ants are one of the largest ant species.  In the Northeast, the most common of the carpenter ant species is the black carpenter ant. Most carpenter ants are black, but some vary towards red. Worker ants vary from ¼ to ¾ inch long, while most queens are around 9/16 of an inch long. Mature colonies contain winged males and winged females.

Pharaoh ants are also known as “piss ants” or “sugar ants” because these ants are very small, typically only measuring 1/12 to 1/16 inch long. They are generally light tan to red in color.

The Pavement ant is usually brown or black but has pale legs. They are smaller ants, with the workers measuring 1/12 - 1/4 of an inch. The workers are about half of the size of the reproductive ants but they are all short-legged and therefore sluggish and slow.

The Odorous House ant is brown to black and all workers ants are the same size. Additionally, this particular ant gets its name from the putrid smell it emits when it is crushed.

Red Imported Fire ants are generally reddish or dark brown. The worker ants vary in length from approximately 1/16 to 3/16 of an inch long. However, their queen ants are about twice the size, typically larger than 3/8 inch.

Ants are social insects with 3 distinct castes: workers, queens and males.  Queens live the longest – anywhere from 1-30 years – and the colony will survive through her lifetime. The workers will generally live 1-3 years, while the males have the shortest lives, sometimes only a few weeks.

Most ants mate in swarms (with some exceptions). These swarms tend to happen during the warmer months of the year – between spring and fall – at which time winged males, followed by the winged reproductive females leave their colony’s nest and go out to mate. The females will follow a pheromone emitted by the male.

Males will typically die after ‘nuptial flights’ while the mated female will look for a proper nesting site. Once she locates a suitable nesting site she will begin to lay eggs and develop her colony. In many cases the queen will never have to mate again in order to reproduce. The female is able to store the male’s semen and decide which eggs to fertilize in the future.  She will lay thousands of eggs in her lifetime. Those eggs that are fertilized become female workers. Those that are not fertilized will be the reproductive winged males. Some of the females may actually develop into winged reproductive females, who will later swarm, mate and become queens of their own colonies.

Ants undergo complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa and adult).  The larvae don’t resemble the adult ant at all – they are soft-bodied, largely immobile, clear or transparent and legless. During the pupal stage, they begin the transformation into the adult.

During the first year of the colony, while the first generation of eggs hatch and the larvae are growing into adults, the queen will do all of the work for the colony, tending to the needs of all of the immature ants. However, once the first generation becomes adults, the female worker ant immediately takes over the responsibility of feeding and defending the colony.  The queen’s role at that time is simply to lay eggs (although in some cases she will assist the worker ants with the feeding of the larvae). The male ants sole responsibility are to mate with the queen to help her continue to grow the population.

The female workers will make up the bulk of the colony with the larvae and pupa. There are few reproductive males and in some cases reproductive females in the colony as well, who then become the kings and queens of the colony. There are some instances, depending on species of ant, where there is more than one queen per colony. In other cases, there may be colonies without queen ants. Those that have queens are known as ‘queen-right.’ There are also instances of species that are completely asexual and species that are all female.

In most cases, ants are considered to be very beneficial insects, providing useful functions for the environment. Some of the ant’s food preferences are dead insects, dead animals, plants and pest species. They are also attracted to certain food debris like sweets, grease, fats, cake, fruit juice, syrups, eggs, sugar, honey, meat and pet food.

Larvae serve an important purpose in the ant colony: adult ants cannot eat solid foods, but larvae can process solids into liquids. When fed, the larvae will regurgitate its food into the “social stomach” so the adult ants can feed when necessary.

Carpenter ants also mate through swarming during late spring and early summer, but at the early stage of the colony only wingless workers are produced. Once the colony matures, after about 3 years, reproductive ants with wings are produced in order to swarm, mate and continue to expand the colony size. The first generation of ants usually consists of only 15 or 20 ants, while in the second year the population may increase to as many as 3,000 ants. Carpenter ants mainly feed on the honeydew extracts of other insects or plants and fruit juices. They are also predators of other insects and arthropods.  If indoors, they may feed on sweets, cakes, eggs and grease.

Pharaoh ants also like sweet or greasy/fatty foods, like jelly, butter, liver or bacon. Their developmental period is on the shorter end, with eggs hatching after around 6 days and adulthood taking place around 35 days after that. Their colonies contain multiple queens – as many as several hundred in one colony is possible – but will always have at least one queen per colony. However, these ants spread by a process called “budding,” not by swarming. Budding is when a portion of the colony, adults and immatures, move to a new nesting site and start a new colony.

The Pavement ant will eat almost anything but also prefer the sweet and greasy foods as well as live and dead insects. Pavement Ants are swarmers and the worker ants develop between 60 and 90 days after hatching.

The Odorous House ant prefer the sweets, whether outdoors or inside. When no alternatives are present they will search for foods like meat and cheese that are high in protein.  On occasion, they will also eat live and/or dead insects.

Red Imported Fire ants generally eat other insects but also enjoy the sugary “honeydew” that is made by some insects. Their colonies all consist of at least one queen if not more and mature colonies may have over 200,000 ants. Fire ants mate through swarming, eggs will hatch in 8-10 days and the adult stage is reached between 22 and 37 days after hatching.

For the most part, ants are beneficial to the environment as one of their main functions is to feed on other pests, dead insects and decomposing tissue from dead plants and animals. However, they can be a pest in homes and/or offices and in some cases can even be dangerous or cause damage.

Ants may cause damage to home lawns. Typically, the damage that occurs to lawns may be caused by ants loosening the soil in order to build their nests.  In the same manner, they may also damage crops.

If disturbed or threatened, some ant species may bite or sting or both. In most cases, these bites and stings will simply cause an allergic reaction of some sorts and produce a blister or bite mark. In rare instances,, ant stings have been known to be fatal, but this is extremely uncommon to the New York metro region.

Carpenter ants do not have the ability to sting, but when threatened they will bite and their bites can be rather painful due to their powerful jaws. They might also spray an acid onto the bite mark, which may cause an uncomfortable, burning feeling.

Pharaoh ants usually do not bite and are very unlikely to sting.

Red Imported Fire ants are very protective of their nests and when a nest is disturbed they will attack the intruder. A female worker will bite and sting the intruder, injecting its venom, causing a burning sensation to the one who disturbed the colony. There is usually a raised bump at the spot of the bite/sting and those who are allergic may have a more intense reaction.  Fire ant bites typically come in masses, not just one bite.

If your home or workplace is suffering from an infestation, the first task is to correctly identify the species of ant as treatment methods differ from species to species. However, in general, the main approach one should take is to follow the ants back to their nest and attempt to destroy the nest and the entire colony, including the queen.

If the infestation is occurring outside on the lawn, there are certain lawn chemicals that can be applied for control. There are also other types of spot treatments or chemical treatments that can be used. No matter which treatment method is picked be sure to read the labels carefully and apply and keep them out of the reach of children.

The best way to get rid of ants though is to reduce the chances of them coming into your structure or lawns in the first place. There are several things that can be done to eliminate the resources that ants are in search of and cause them to nest nearby:

• Keep the home clean
• Throw away or store uneaten foods
• Repair dripping faucets or leaks
• Keep mulch and fire wood away from the house
• Use a barrier treatment around the exterior of the property
• Weatherstrip and caulk around cracks and opening into the premises
• Clean out the gutters on a regular basis
• Use traps and baits to catch ants and pinpoint sites of possible infestations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant

https://agrilifebookstore.org/tmppdfs/viewpdf_295_40851.pdf?CFID=14208443&CFTOKEN=572e7ac0482ec709-43F4B539-F8C0-DA17-6E2E19A27E6EB547&jsessionid=90307233c380b7858368126a5656204a3b65

https://agrilifebookstore.org/tmppdfs/viewpdf_295_82176.pdf?CFID=14218716&CFTOKEN=2dad4d5df8b7d2b6-47C0163B-0F16-9688-E337D7A4CE018E75&jsessionid=9030c292c8a3f7255f65b645215621424d51

https://agrilifebookstore.org/tmppdfs/viewpdf_295_83281.pdf?CFID=14628178&CFTOKEN=a730295d1d3e34cc-96121FF1-B29F-63B4-413E9666D2421AF3&jsessionid=90303b53eeb4b2cc8bcda114515476946763

http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/cals/entomology/extension/idl/upload/Ants-in-Houses-2011.pdf

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/carpenter-ants?searchterm=ant

http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/cals/entomology/extension/idl/upload/2009-Suffolk-CCE-Carpenter-Ants.pdf

http://www.sites.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/pavement.html

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/pavement-ant?searchterm=ant

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7416.html

http://pestworld.org/identify-insect/Pest/red-imported-fire-ants