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Argentine Ants
Linepithema humile
32.7349, -117.097
Field Notes
Description:
The worker ants are about 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long and can easily squeeze through cracks and holes no more than 1 millimetre (0.039 in) in size. Queens are two to four times the length of workers. These ants will set up quarters in the ground, in cracks in concrete walls, in spaces between boards and timbers, even among belongings in human dwellings. In natural areas, they generally nest shallowly in loose leaf litter or beneath small stones, due to their poor ability to dig deeper nests. However, if a deeper nesting ant species abandons their nest, Argentine ant colonies will readily take over the space.
Habitat:
Everywhere!
Notes:
These ants create super-colonies because they don't fight with each other, so they are terribly invasive and wipe out native ant species.
These particular ants are eating a mixture of diatomaceous earth (pool filter material) and sugar syrup. They will take it back to the nest and within 10 days the whole nest will die. Usually I don't kill things in the natural world, but this is an invasion in my kitchen, so retaliation by me is essential!
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