Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Yet Another Ant Entry

Solenopsis molesta The 'Thief' Ant:

Appearence:

S. molesta range anywhere from 1/32 (0.5 mm) of an inch to 1/8 (3 mm) of an inch long. They can be yellowish or brownish tones of color. These ants have a two-segmented petiole connecting their abdomen to the thorax.

They have 10 segments in their antennae, which end in large segmented clubs. Thief ants have small stingers on their oblong abdomen, and generally have small eyes. Worker ants have large jaws for carrying food back to the colony.

Distribution:

S. molesta are native to the United States. They can more commonly be found in the central states and the east coast.

Habitat:

The habitat of Solenopsis molesta is infinite, because they can survive just about anywhere. They can live in people’s homes, in the cracks or under the floorboards. They can build nests anywhere, such as under rocks, in any exposed soil, and rotting logs.

If they cannot find any of these things, then they move into another colony. Their nests are generally large for the ants’ size, and have tunnels that lead to another ant colony for a reliable and steady food source.

The rest can be found here. I don't know if there pictures of this species or not but I'll have looksie on Google.

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