The Argentine Ant, a small brown ant about 2-3mm long, is one of the world’s most damaging insects. This ant is spreading to warmer regions around the world from its natal habitat along South America’s Parana River. In California, horned lizard populations plummet. In South Africa, plant reproduction is disrupted. Worldwide, the Argentine ant is a persistent house and crop pest. If you see these ants make sure you get after them fast or there will be problems ahead for sure. This is a very distructive ant.

Behavior

* Feed on sweets, fresh fruit, and buds of some plants
* Tend honeydew-producing species
* Forage for sweets and oils in homes
* Travel rapidly in distinctive trails along sidewalks, up sides of buildings, along branches of trees and shrubs, along baseboards, and under edges of carpets
* Colonies may split in spring and summer when queen and workers move to new site; not antagonistic toward each other

Nest type and size

* Outdoors in soil, under wood, slabs, debris, mulch, or in branches and cavities of trees and shrubs
* Shallow, 1- to 2-inch deep mounds in open, often disturbed habitats, either moist or dry
* Millions of ants per colony with multiple queens and many subcolonies