Pest Profile
Photo credit: April Nobie, California Academy of Sciences (Specimen CASENT 0003317; fromhttps://www.antweb.org)
Common Name: Black house ant (black household ant)
Scientific Name: Ochetellus glauber
Order and Family: Order Hymenoptera; Family Formicidae
Size and Appearance:
Length (mm) Appearance Egg
Larva/Nymph
Adult Workers are 2 - 3 mm Workers are brown to black in color with a one-part waist, 12-segmented antennae, and the abdomen has Queens are 5.2 - 5.5 a pore at its end (acidiopore). These ants do not have mm a stinger.
Males are 1.6 mm
Pupa (if applicable)
Type of feeder (Chewing, sucking, etc.): Chewing
Host(s): These black house ant is omnivorous feeding on insects, floral nectaries, and the honeydew of hemipteran plant pest.
Description of Damage (larvae and adults): The black house ant is a nuisance pest that will nest in buildings, such as homes, where it forages on human foods, especially sweets. They often nest and forage in kitchens and bathrooms but also nest in walls, potted plants, rolled up awnings, and other small spaces. They may also be attracted to electrical wiring. Though the ants lack a stinger, they do bite.
The black house ant is considered a threat to ecosystems and may disrupt the biological control of some agricultural pests.
The black house ant is an introduced species from Australia and is found in Florida and Hawaii.
References: Black house ant. (2018). Factsheet, Western Australia Agricultural Authority. Retrieved from https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Pest%20and%20Disease%20Information%20S ervice%20%28PaDIS%29%20-%20Ant%20factsheet%20- %20Black%20house%20ants%20%28A362015%29%20v2.pdf
Ochetellus glauber. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Ochetellus_glaber
Ochetellus glauber. (2019). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochetellus_glaber