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Ants In and Around the Home
HYG-2064-96
Ants rank number one in inquiries at our Ohio State University Extension Entomology office over all other household/structural pests. It is very important to have an accurate ant identification in order to determine the best method of control if needed. When in doubt, collect several specimens in a watertight vial, add isopropyl or 70 percent alcohol (not water), and enclose in a crush proof box. Take to your county Extension office of Ohio State University Extension or mail to the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic, 110 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210-1087, phone (614)292-5006. A nominal fee is charged for specimen identification. Some ants are so small and similar in appearance when viewed by the naked eye, that it takes trained specialists to tell the difference between species.
Identification
There are several kinds of ants that may occur in and around the home ranging in size from about 1/32 to 3/4 inch long and colored yellowish, light brown, reddish-brown, brownish-black or jet black. Ants, as all insects, have three body parts, head, thorax, and abdomen. Most are wingless, but the homeowner sometimes may confuse swarming, winged ants with swarming, winged termites, causing alarm. Ants can be easily distinguished from termites by several characteristics:
1. Ant bodies appear constricted or pinched in at the waist (shaped like a figure 8), while termites do not have the waist constriction.
2. Ants have elbowed antennae, while termites have straight, bead-like antennae.
3. The forewings of ants are much larger than the hindwings. Termites' wings are equal in size and shape.
4.Ant wings are transparent or brownish, while termite wings are milky-white or grayish and longer than the body.
5. Ant wings are firmly attached, while termite wings are easily removed or shed (fall off). Differences between a winged termite and a winged ant. Life Cycle and Habits Ants are social insects that live in colonies or nests usually located in the soil near the house foundation, under concrete slabs, in crawlspaces, in structural wood, in the yard or garden, in trees and in other protected places. Ants have three castes, namely queens, males and workers. Queens and males are the reproductives. Workers are sterile wingless females. New ant colonies are started by a single fertilized queen that lays eggs and tends her brood (larvae and pupae) that develop into worker ants. Tending of the brood is then taken over by the worker, which may shift the brood from place to place as moisture and temperature fluctuate in the nest. When workers forage for food for the queen and her young, they often may enter houses and become a nuisance by their presence and contaminate food.
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