Thief Ants

Thief Ants Thief ants belong to a complex group of very small.Tiny, around 1/32-inch to 1/16-inch (1-1.5 mm); yellowish.

Their color also varies from yellow to bronze to dark brown with a smooth shiny appearance. The petiole consists of two segments. The antennae contain 10 segments terminating in a 2-segmented club. Characteristics also include small eyes and a stinger at the rear of the abdomen.

The thief ant, Solenopsis molesta (Say) is a native species that ranges throughout the United States. Thief ant colonies are small, containing several hundred to a thousand individuals with many queens. They are highly adaptive in their nesting habits and can nest in exposed soil; under objects on the ground such as stones, logs, bricks, and inside decaying wood in stumps and in woodwork and masonry of homes.

Thief ant colonies are small, containing several hundred to a thousand individuals with many queens. They are highly adaptive in their nesting habits and can nest in exposed soil; under objects on the ground such as stones, logs, bricks, and inside decaying wood in stumps and in woodwork and masonry of homes

They invade homes from outdoors, generally during hot weather. They nest in cracks and crevices and wall voids, forage readily on set trails and are persistent in their forays. They can easily enter packaged food because their small size allows them to enter containers inaccessible to larger ants. They eat a variety of household foods such as meats, breads, sweets, nuts, animal fats, vegetable oil and dairy products. They may prefer high protein foods.

Life Cycle :Queens lay an average of 105 eggs, which incubate for 16 to 28 days. Larval stage may last 21 days in summer, but can last throughout the winter Colonies of thief ants are generally small varying from a few hundred to several thousand workers and a multitude of queens. Swarmers take flight and mate from June until late fall. The developmental time from egg to adult takes around 50 days to several months.

Control : To locate thief ant nests follow the trail of foraging workers back from their food source. Inspect for other ant species that thief ants may be raiding. The best control strategy is to locate and treat the outdoor nests with liquid insecticide, and to use bait for the indoor nests. Colonies that are foraging indoors will usually be located close to the house foundation

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