Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 5: Prepare for Ant Identification
• Part 2 of 5: Examine the Ant
• Part 3 of 5: Narrow your searches
• Part 4 of 5: How to identify a single segmented ant
• Part 5 of 5: How to identify a two-segmented ant
• Tips
• What do you need

You will be able to identify if you have a dead ant as a specimen and a magnifying glass. Keep in mind, however, that only a relatively small number of species are common household pests. Outdoor species may require more detailed guidance specific to your area.

Steps

Part 1 of 5: Prepare for Ant Identification

1. 1 Observe the behavior of the ants for a while. Although this is not always necessary for identification, the behavior of ants of different species usually differs.You can write down exactly where you found the ants, what they ate or collected. Notice if all the ants are the same size and shape, or if some of them are significantly larger than the rest.
   • If you wish, you can watch how they carry food, how fast they run, what demeanor they do, or what poses they take to attack if disturbed. Most of these details will not be covered in this article, but they may come in handy later if you need to do a little outdoor research and narrow the definition down to a couple of species.
2. 2 Pick up the ant with tweezers or rubbing alcohol. Tweezers, of course, are more convenient, but you can also cope with the tip of a rag or brush dipped in alcohol or ethanol.
3. 3 Kill the ant by freezing it or dipping it in alcohol. You can put the ant in a plastic bag, seal it tightly, and freeze it for 24 hours. Alternatively, you can put an ant in a small jar with a little rubbing alcohol and examine it after a few minutes.
4. 4 Find a magnifying glass or microscope. In order to accurately determine the type of ant, it is necessary to carefully examine its tiny body parts. A 10-15x lens should be sufficient, but if you have a low power microscope you can use it.
   • Tweezers will help you a lot when examining, as they can adjust the position of the ant.

Part 2 of 5: Examine the Ant

1. 1 Make sure the insect is an ant. It may sound silly, but some termites and wasps are often mistaken for ants. Make sure your subject has the following basic characteristics:
   • Ants have geniculate antennae, pronounced articulations and narrow waists. In termites, the antennae are straight and the waist is not clearly expressed.
   • Some ants have stings, and some wasps don't. Both insects have narrow waists, but ants have tiny "stalks" between two segments of their body, while the wasp segments connect completely.
   • Winged ants have four wings, with the front pair being longer than the rear pair. If all four wings are the same size, then you are most likely facing a termite.
2. 2 Identify three body segments. Ants consist of a head, torso and posterior thoracic region. The final, large part of the abdomen is called the abdomen. Write down or memorize the color of the abdomen.
3. 3 Look for stems. Between the body and the abdomen of ants are one or two smaller body parts called stalks or petioli. They range from tiny spines on a relatively large, rectangular ridge to flat segments that can be seen if only the torso is removed from the abdomen with tweezers. They are the most distinctive part of the ant and therefore the most useful for identifying it. Please note the following:
   • Number of stems (one or two)
   • Stem shape (sharp tip, round bump, square / protruding or flat)
4. 4 Examine your torso carefully for spikes. Some ant species have multiple spines on the upper side of the rib cage (large segment behind the head). They are often small and difficult to distinguish from hairs, so take a close look and gently blow on them or brush them with tweezers. Many species do not have spines on the body, while those that have them, most often their number is from one to four and they are located in the back of the body.
   • Count the number of spikes, if any.
5. 5 Measure the ant. Place the ant next to the ruler and write down its size. If possible, use a ruler with millimeter markings.

Part 3 of 5: Narrow your searches

1. 1 Make a list of the ants in your area, if possible. There are thousands of ant species around the world, but usually only a few of them can be encountered in one or another part of the world.Instead of reading the description of each ant, you can save time by learning about the ants that live in your country or area.
   • You can find out about representatives of some tropical countries and islands from the online guide here, but not all information can be read.
2. 2 If necessary, use more serious reference books. Dozens or hundreds of species may need to be scrutinized in international ant guides. If you can't find a list of native insects, or if none of the ant species below match your description, here are some good options:
   • Visit the AntWeb.org website. Select the Regions tab at the top of the page, then select your region from the drop-down menu. Select "Nearctic" for Canada, USA and California. For the rest of Mexico and Latin America, choose Neotropical.
   • Alternatively, you can enter information about your individual into the Discover Life database ..
3. 3 When reading the section below, return to the ant in question. Below is an additional description of the species, which may be useful to you. Head color, antenna shape (thin or "clavate") and other information that you may find useful.
   • Depending on which ant you have, skip to the section on single-segmented or two-segmented ant. In each section, the most common, annoying ant species are listed first. Other less common species of harmful ants found in more limited areas are described more briefly below.

Part 4 of 5: How to identify a single segmented ant

1. 1 Argentine ant. Argentine ants are dark brown in color and about 3 mm long with a sharp stem. They live in most countries of the world. They move quickly after each other, prefer to eat sugar, but can feed on proteins and fats. They have a rotten smell when crushed.
   • Typically, colonies live in damp areas outdoors, but can also be found indoors. It is extremely difficult to eradicate them due to the fact that there can be several queens in a colony, and also many colonies interact with each other.
2. 2 Camponotus (or carpenter ants). These ants are black, dark brown, or dark red (or combinations thereof) in color. They range in size from 6 to 12 mm, they have one protruding stem and no spines on the body. They move at a certain distance from each other. They can often be found near trees, along with a strong odor and heaps of sawdust, soil and insect particles.
   • Look for their paths on lawns where vegetation has been cut or cleared.
3. 3 Raging ant Rusberry. Rabid Rasberry ants are so named because they change direction abruptly and, possibly, because of their strange appearance, elongated antennae and legs. Their slender, dark gray, black or brown bodies are 2 to 3.5 mm long, have a flat stem that is difficult to see and lack thorns.
   • In the tropics, some Crazy Rusberry Ant species are yellowish brown in color and can grow up to 5 mm in length with a darker abdomen (posterior thoracic region).
4. 4 Identify other species. These single-segmented ant species are common pests in some areas, but globally are much rarer than the species described above:
   • Ghost Ant (Latin Tapinoma melanocephalum). It is very small in size (2 mm) with a black / brown head and pale belly. Flat, hidden stalk, no thorns. Usually found outdoors in the tropics or on plants grown in greenhouses or tropics.
   • Smelling house ants (Latin Tapinoma sessile). They are 3.5 mm long, have one flat, hidden stalk, no thorns. When crushed, they give off a strong, unusual odor. Most often they can be found when they are looking for sugar, but not always.
   • "Wandering ants" (lat. Brachymyrmex). Male workers are 2 mm long, small and black with an unusual straight antenna. They are most easily distinguished by their winged females, which are much larger. They can be found near lighting or floating in stagnant water.
   • "White-footed ants" (lat. Technomyrmex albipes). They are 3.5 mm long, usually black with "pale" legs. The stalk is hidden and flat, there are no thorns on the body.

Part 5 of 5: How to identify a two-segmented ant

1. 1 "Ants-acrobats" (lat. Crematogaster). They are brown, red or black in color and shades, approximately 3.5 mm in length or larger. If disturbed, these ants give off a smell and raise the sting located at the tip of the abdomen. Their stem is slightly bumpy, but not too raised.
   • Their nest is easiest to find by following their path or by looking for dead ants near holes in the wall.
2. 2 "Big-headed ant" (lat. Pheidole megacephala). They are easily identified by the massive head of the largest worker ants (3.5 mm body length) accompanied by smaller worker ants with more normal proportions (2 mm). It is even easier to identify them by two large, rounded stems and two small thorns on the body.
   • These ants prefer to forage for protein foods.
3. 3 Fiery red imported ant. Imported fire ants are extremely aggressive and attack intruders with painful bites. They range from 2 to 7 mm in length, have two raised stalks, and their abdomen is darker brown than the rest of the body.
   • Having adapted to live indoors, they often nest in control boxes and air conditioners. On the street, they can be found after the rain, restoring the anthill in the form of a mound.
   • California residents can be assisted to control this species of ants.
4. 4 Identify other species. The following two-segmented ant species are common pests in some areas, but are much less common around the world of the species described above:
   • Small black ants (Latin Monomorium minimum). The tiny (2mm) ants are black in color, as the name suggests. There are no thorns and a small, almost imperceptible sting, by which this ant is difficult to identify. When they nest indoors, they can be found in rotting wood and masonry.
   • Sod ants tend to nest in soil or sidewalk cracks, in small mud "craters". They move slowly along grooves that are clearly visible with a magnifying glass.
   • Pharaonic ant. They are yellow or orange in color and happily nest almost anywhere, they have a small thickening "pin" at the end of the antenna, consisting of three segments. If you try to exterminate them in an unprofessional way, then the problem can only get worse.
   • "Thief ants" (Latin Solenopsis molesta). They are small (2 mm or less), yellow or brown in color, and have a pin-tipped antenna in two segments. They tend to stick to previously laid out routes and can be found crawling over an electrical outlet or crawling into small openings in packaged food.

Tips

• Ants found outside the home or yard can be more difficult to identify as most reference books (including this article) focus on pest varieties.
• If, in the process of identification, your investigated ant turns out to be a pest, then select the most appropriate method of control for representatives of this species. If you cannot find the information you need online, ask a pest control specialist or employee of a company that sells pesticides.
• If you still can't identify an ant, but don't want to hire a specialist, ask people interested in this topic on reddit / r / whatsthisbug.

What do you need

• Ant
• Tweezers
• Lenses, magnifying glass or microscope
• Ruler
• Plastic bag or freezer
• Alcohol and a small jar