Small North American ant

Small North American ant

Beitragvon ItsJason » 10. Apr 2009 23:54

Hey guys. For a long time now, I have been wondering what type of ant this is. The problem is, it is so small, that even with a magnifying glass I can't get a decent picture. So if anyone could guess what species this is by a description, I would be much obliged :)
-it is about 2.5 millimeters long
-it is pure jet black
-it eats just about anything. It farms aphids, loves sugar, and often invades the house
-it lives in colonies anywhere. In sand, in a tree hollowed out by termites, and in cracks in the cement
-it never bites or stings
-I have observed them living side by side with termites, peacefully
-I have seen them living in colonies with many different queens (I have seen more than 10 queens in one nest)
-it does not have a warrior caste
-it is the most common ant here in southern california and I see them everywhere
-they are just called "black ants" here
That is all of the description that I can think of at the moment. If anyone would like me to look for something about them (I have a low power microscope perfect for observing them) please post it. Again, sorry that I cannot provide pictures, I do not have any cameras that take decent pictures of the small ant.
Thanks for your help in advance!
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Re: Small North American ant

Beitragvon JimmyVe » 12. Apr 2009 13:49

Hello ItsJason and welcome.

I would go for Tapinoma sessile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapinoma_sessile#Habits
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Re: Small North American ant

Beitragvon Phenom » 14. Mai 2009 04:22

Either Tapinoma sessile like JimmyVe said, or Linepithema humile, or better known as the argentine ant. I also live in California, northern CA and they are everywhere. They have multiple queens that often come out to forage, but if looked under a magnifying glass they are a dark brown, not black.
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