Argentine Ant
Linepithema Humile
- Color: Light brown
- Worker size: 2.2-2.8 millimetres
- Colony size: millions
- Queen: 4.5-5 millimetres, budding, polygyne
Introduction
Argentine ants are one of the most invasive ant species in the world. These ants don’t have specialized soldiers - they only have workers. Workers are 2.2 - 2.8 mm in size. Argentine Ants like to nest in moist areas and under stuff like stones. Argentine Ants are light brown. Argentine ant queens are vastly bigger than their workers, at a size of 4.5-5 mm.
Unique Traits
Supercolony Empires
Argentine Ants have the biggest supercolonies in the world. The largest one stretches 6,000 kilometres and is home to over 300 million ants! These colonies have multiple queens working together. In a supercolony, other ants from other nests aren’t or are barely aggressive to each other. Supercolonies often consist of hundreds of queens, although, interestingly, argentine ant workers kill the majority of the queens every spring.
Defences
Argentine Ants mainly attack in groups. They can do something called “Gaster Bending”. Gaster Bending is when an ant bends their abdomen to release compounds to an opponent. These compounds irritate the enemies and also make them alert.
Habitat & Diet
Argentine Ants are native to South America. They eat insects, honeydew, and sugary substances like honeydew and fruit juices. Argentine Ants are known to raid honeybee colonies and steal their brood. They also travel far to search for food.
Sources:
- https://www.fowlerpestcontrol.com/pests/ants/argentine-ant/#:~:text=They%20have%20a%20complex%20social%20structure%20usually,and%20a%20reproductive%20caste%20made%20up%20of
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.092694199
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5784131/#:~:text=Previous%20studies%20have%20implied%20that,of%20the%20pygidial%20gland%20chemicals.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1146609X09000940#:~:text=Introduction,the%20invasion%20in%20affected%20areas.
- https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/ants/argentine-ants/#:~:text=What%20do%20Argentine%20Ants%20Look,4%20to%206%20mm%20long.
- https://www.orkincanada.ca/pests/ants/argentine-ants/
- https://www.insectlore.com/blogs/ants/ant-supercolonies#:~:text=The%20Argentine%20ant%20(Linepithema%20humile,over%20300%20million%20individual%20ants.
- https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Linepithema_humile/#:~:text=Physical%20Description,are%20usually%20darker%20than%20workers.
- https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/are-argentine-ants-threat-honeybees
- https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/C926/argentine-ants/#:~:text=Argentine%20ants%20are%20one%20of,aging%20trails%20(Figure%202).
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1420-9101.2001.00345.x#:~:text=Queen%20execution%20is%20probably%20the%20most%20puzzling,to%2090%25%20of%20the%20queens%20(%208).