Pest Library – Ants – Argentine Ant

Habitat
These ants will set up quarters in the ground, in cracks in concrete walls, in spaces between boards and timbers, even among belongings in human dwellings. In natural areas, they generally nest shallowly in loose leaf litter or beneath small stones, due to their poor ability to dig deeper nests. However, if a deeper nesting ant species abandons their nest, Argentine ant colonies will readily take over the space.

Biology and Behavior
The worker ants are about 3 millimeters (0.12 in) long and can easily squeeze through cracks and holes no more than 1 millimeter (0.039 in) in size. Queens are two to four times the length of workers. Argentine ants feed on sweets and will tend insects for honeydew. They will also forage indoors for proteins and sweets. Foraging ants form tightly linked trails. The colonies of these ants have multiple queens in several nesting locations. The colonies can reach enormous sizes, with millions of individual ants. Workers are monomorphic, or uniform in size.

Distribution
Southern United States and California. Spreading northward into the Midwest.

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