Pest Profile
Photo credit: April Nobile, California Academy of Science (Specimen CASENT 0104535; from https://www.antweb.org)
Common Name: Odorous house ant
Scientific Name: Tapinoma sessile
Order and Family: Order Hymenoptera; Family Formicidae
Size and Appearance:
Length (mm) Appearance Egg
Larva/Nymph
Adult Workers Workers are monomorphic with a one-part waist, and lack a range from stinger. The ants are uniformly dark in color. 2.4 – 3.3 mm Colonies have many reproductive queens (polygynous). Pupa (if applicable)
Type of feeder (Chewing, sucking, etc.): Chewing
Host(s): The odorous house ant is omnivorous, feeding on plants and animals but especially eats honeydew from various hemipterans that feed on plants.
Description of Damage (larvae and adults): The odorous house ant is a nuisance pest based on its nesting activities. The ants may invade buildings to nest and usually construct near moisture including near toilets, in wall voids, under dishwashers, and bath traps. These ants are common pests in apiaries, nesting in the covers of bee hives.
The workers forage day and night and year round on live and dead insects, cat food, a variety of household foods, and sweets. These ants collect honeydew from hemipterans that feed on plants.
The odorous house ant is found throughout the USA.
References: Klotz, J., Hansen, L., Pospichil, R. & Rust, M. (2008). Urban ants of North America and Europe: identification, biology, and management. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Tapinoma sessile. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Tapinoma_sessile
Tapinoma sessile. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.schoolofants.org/species/118