I'm trying to put a picture with this post, but I'm not sure I've totally figured out how yet. I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't work I'll try again.
Thanks so much to all of you.

[fixed the broken image] --antdude
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new hoosier |
Identification Help |
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I'm wondering if anyone can help me to identify this ant. It's all over our house (Indianapolis) and we're just not sure how big of a potential problem it could be. The size is 3-4mm and they're mostly black with no other obvious characteristics - at least to an untrained eye. (One of the pictures I took seemed to show a little red on the thorax, but I think it may have been artifactual.)
I'm trying to put a picture with this post, but I'm not sure I've totally figured out how yet. I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't work I'll try again. Thanks so much to all of you. ![]() [fixed the broken image] --antdude |
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antdude |
Re: Identification Help | #1 | ||
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Hello new hoosier and welcome to the message board. Are they invading inside the house? If not, then I wouldn't worry. I would wait for others to reply.
"The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. But the bee...gathers its materials from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own." --Leonardo da Vinci /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Ant (aka AntDude), Your Host & Fearless Overlord| |o o| | \ _ / The Ant Farm's Message Board and Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL). ( ) |
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new hoosier |
Re: Identification Help | #2 | ||
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Thanks for the welcome.
I'm not sure where the lines are drawn between invasion, occupation, liberation, police effort, war, etc. but they are inside the house. We find them mostly in the kitchen, but we've also found them (in much smaller numbers) in just about every room of the house. Invasion? Not sure. In the house? Definitely. |
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antdude |
Re: Identification Help | #3 | ||
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new hoosier: Any sudden weather changes?
Try to keep your food and drinks away from ants. No leaks, left overs, etc. "The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. But the bee...gathers its materials from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own." --Leonardo da Vinci /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Ant (aka AntDude), Your Host & Fearless Overlord| |o o| | \ _ / The Ant Farm's Message Board and Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL). ( ) |
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new hoosier |
Re: Identification Help | #4 | ||
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Spring has finally arrived, but nothing too drastic.
We have a two year old, so the food is a problem. We try to keep the floor swept, but he throws it down faster than we can sweep it up! We had a water leak that did some floor damage last year, but nothing recently. I guess our biggest fear (irrational or not) is that we have a carpenter ant problem. If it's not that (or anything else that will structurally damage the house) then we'll just keep doing what we're doing - sweeping, vacuuming, etc. If there is a potential for bigger problems, however, we may have to call in the WMDs. |
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Harpegnathos |
Re: Identification Help | #5 | ||
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New Hoosier,
It's hard to tell for sure what ant you have because of the photo resolution. Are there spines on the middle section (sometimes loosely called the thorax)? If not, I'd guess it is genus Monomorium. In any case it isn't a carpenter ant, which would be larger and would have only one node (petiole) between the thorax and gaster (last section). Monomorium is a common house pest that will eat your food and offend some people's aesthetic sensibilities but it does not threaten the structure of your house. H |
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Mrmacophyl |
Re: Identification Help | #6 | ||
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HMmmmm looks more Tetramoriumish to me but as already mentioned the resolution and angle of the photo make it tough.
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny...."
Isaac Asimov: |
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new hoosier |
Re: Identification Help | #7 | ||
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Many thanks everyone. I wish I could answer the spines question, but I don't have a magnifying glass and this picture was the best I could do.
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Myrmecos1 |
Re: Identification Help | #8 | ||
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I'm with Myrmacophyl. That's Tetramorium caespitum, the pavement ant.
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Dr Ant |
Re: Identification Help | #9 | ||
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Soon to be known as something else in Tetramorium, you'll be cheered to know. Apparently, there are multiple cryptic species in the complex and the real T. caespitum hasn't made it to America yet.
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Myrmecos1 |
Re: Identification Help | #10 | ||
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Really? So NONE of the introduced American Tetramorium are caespitum?
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Mrmacophyl |
Re: Identification Help | #11 | ||
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Thats the current rumor going around.
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny...."
Isaac Asimov: |
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