Argentine Ants

What do Argentine Ants look like?

Argentine ants are shiny dark brown to shiny black in color. They are a smaller ant species with adults growing to between 1/16 and 1/4 of an inch in length; workers are smaller in size than the queens. They have 12 segmented antennae and a segmented, oval shaped body. One of their most obvious identifying features is that they live together in colonies that are nothing less than massive in size. A single colony can have hundreds of thousands of workers, and hundreds of queens living in it.

Where are Argentine ants found?

Argentine ants prefer to inhabit moist areas that are located close to food sources. They are often found nesting next to buildings, in the cracks found along sidewalks, or beneath landscaping timbers or rocks. If it becomes too wet or too dry for the ants to live comfortably outside, they move inside Quad City homes and other buildings. They get inside by traveling along utility wires and pipes or by using tree or shrub branches as a bridge to access a building.

What do Argentine ants eat?

Argentine ants are not picky when it comes to what they eat. They are omnivores and eat a varied diet of meats, sweets, oils, and fats. Their favorite food source is the honeydew that is produced by aphids and mealybugs. Argentine ants are efficient foragers and travel together in trails, dropping pieces of food as they go; this habit helps to ensure that they don’t go back to forage for food in an area that they have already visited.