Burge Pest Control - Serving the East Bay Area of California since 1952. Residential, Commercial, Termites

Bug Facts - Ants

Physical Characteristics

The seven most common species of ants in California are: Argentine ants, southern fire ants, California harvester ants, velvety tree ants, carpenter ants, odorous house ants, pavement ants, and the black harvester ant. The most common of these is the Argentine ant.

Ants usually nest in the top 6 feet of soil when nesting in the ground.

Ants are social insects and live in colonies which may have sub colonies. Ants have a division of labor among the colony members with 3 distinct castes: workers, soldiers and queens.

Ants are mainly nuisance pests but some are of health or economic significance. Some, like the southern fire ant, have a rather powerful sting. Other ants like the carpenter ant do some damage to structures by hollowing out a place in the wood for their nest.

Ants have a "pinched in" waist, while termites have a broad waist (the abdomen is broadly joined to the thorax).

Ants use their mandibles for almost everything; biting, pricking, piercing, cutting off heads, building, sawing, gnawing, cutting, carrying, leaping and even bounding, but never for eating.

The smallest ant is 0.8 mm long, and the largest 1 5/8 inches.

Ant Feeding Habits

Most ants are omnivorous which means they eat almost anything, including insects, honeydew, sweets, greases, oils, vegetables, and bread. Ants only send out 10-12% of the colony to forage for food. Once food is found they leave a pheromone trail to lead others to the food source.

Ants have a very narrow esophagus that will not admit even chewed up particles of food. So the chewed up food is fed to the larvae. The larvae then digest and regurgitate it for the adults to eat.

Reproduction

The ant's complete life cycle; egg , larva, pupae, adult, takes 6 weeks to 2 months or more depending on the season, temperature and species.

The female normally mates only once in her lifetime but may live and lay fertilized eggs for many years.

The worker ants are sterile.

Prevention & Treatment

The Burge Pest Control's Residential Power Protection Plan is very effective at preventing reinfestation of ants.