The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile, formerly Iridomyrmex humilis) is a tiny dark ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. The species has been inadvertently introduced by humans to many other areas of the world, such as South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Easter Island, Australia, Hawaii, Europe, and the United States. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Superfamilies Apoidea Ceraphronoidea Chalcidoidea Chrysidoidea Cynipoidea Evanioidea Ichneumonoidea Megalyroidea Proctotrupoidea Sphecoidea Stephanoidea Triganalyoidea Vespoidea Many families, see article Apocrita is a suborder of insects in the order Hymenoptera. ... For other uses, see Ant (disambiguation). ... Genera Amyrmex Anillidris Anonychomyrma Axinidris Azteca Bothriomyrmex Doleromyrma Dolichoderus Dorymyrmex Ecphorella Forelius Froggattella Iridomyrmex Leptomyrmex Linepithema Liometopum Loweriella Ochetellus Papyrius Philidris Tapinoma Technomyrmex Turneria Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Erratic Ant. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Ant (disambiguation). ... “Rapa Nui” redirects here. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Description

The worker ants are only about 1.6 mm (1/16th inch) long and can easily squeeze through cracks and holes no more than 1 mm (0.040 inch) in size. Queens are two to four times the length of workers. These tiny 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.

German entomologist Dr. Gustav L. Mayr identified the first specimens of Hypoclinea humilis in the vicinity of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1866. This species was shortly transferred to the genus Iridomyrmex, and finally to Linepithema in the early 1990s. For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ...

Behavior

In its introduced range, the Argentine ant often displaces most or all native ants. This can, in turn, imperil other species in the ecosystem, such as native plants that depend on native ants for seed dispersal, or lizards that depend on native ants for food. Argentine ants also cause problems in agricultural areas by protecting plant pests, such as aphids and scale insects, from predators and parasitoids. In return for this protection, the ants receive a sweet excretion, known as "honeydew". Thus, when Argentine ants invade an agricultural area, the population densities of these plant parasites increase, and so too does the damage they cause to crops. Families Adelgidae Aphididae Pemphigidae Phylloxeridae and several more Aphids (superfamily Aphidoidea) are small plant-sucking insects. ... Families Aclerdidae Asterolecaniidae Beesoniidae Carayonemidae Cerococcidae Coccidae Conchaspididae Dactylopiidae Diaspididae Electrococcidae Eriococcidae Grimaldiellidae Halimococcidae Inkaidae Jersicoccidae Kermesidae Kerriidae Kukaspididae Labiococcidae Lecanodiaspididae Margarodidae Micrococcidae Ortheziidae Phenacoleachiidae Phoenicococcidae Pseudococcidae Putoidae Stictococcidae The scale insects are small insects of the order Homoptera, generally classified as the superfamily Coccoidea. ...

They have been extraordinarily successful, in part, because different nests of the Argentine ants do not attack or compete with each other, unlike most other species of ants. In their introduced range, their genetic makeup is so uniform that individuals from one nest can mingle in a neighboring nest without being attacked. Thus, in most of their introduced range they form "supercolonies". In contrast, native populations are more genetically diverse, genetically differentiated (among colonies and across space), and form colonies that are much smaller than the supercolonies that dominate the introduced range. Argentine ants in their native South America also co-exist with many other species of ants (including, in some places, another damaging invasive ant, the red imported fire ant), and do not attain the high population densities that characterize introduced populations. For other uses, see Ant (disambiguation). ... This article is about the general scientific term. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... It has been suggested that Fire ant be merged into this article or section. ...

They are attracted by electrical currents (speculation? Source Required) and are known to have caused damage to air conditioners, heat pumps, telephone junction boxes, traffic lights, gasoline pumps, and so on. When they become lodged or electrocuted between the contacts of relays, it damages the contacts and causes the equipment controlled by the relay to malfunction. Sign warning of possible electric shock hazard An electric shock can occur upon contact of a human or animal body with any source of voltage high enough to cause sufficient current flow through the muscles or nerves. ... Automotive style miniature relay A relay is an electrical switch that opens and closes under the control of another electrical circuit. ...

Pest control

Argentine ants are a common household pest, often entering structures in search of food or water (particularly during dry or hot weather), or to escape flooded nests during periods of heavy rainfall. Argentine ant colonies almost invariably have many reproductive queens, as many as eight for every 1,000 workers, so eliminating a single queen does not stop the colony's ability to breed. When they invade a kitchen, it is not uncommon to see two or three queens foraging along with the workers.

Due to their nesting behavior and presence of numerous queens in each colony, it is generally impractical to spray Argentine ants with pesticides or to use boiling water as with mound building ants. Indeed, spraying with pesticides will stimulate increased egg-laying by the queens, compounding the problem. Pest control usually requires exploiting their omnivorous dietary habits. They prefer sweet foods such as the honeydew produced by aphids and mealybugs[1]. The most effective control is through use of slow-acting poison bait, which will be carried back to the nest by the workers, eventually killing all the individuals, including the queens. It may take four to five days to eradicate a colony in this manner. An effective homemade recipe^[2] consists of a solution of granulated white table sugar and boric acid, placed in a shallow dish in the area being invaded: A cropduster spreading pesticide. ... The skull and crossbones symbol (Jolly Roger) traditionally used to label a poisonous substance. ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely traded commodity. ... Flash point Non-flammable. ...

1/4 teaspoon boric acid powder

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sugar

The boric acid will dissolve only if the water is hot, or one can mix the ingredients cold, then place the container in a microwave oven to bring the water to boiling temperature. When mixed in small quantities, the solution can be stored in a dropper bottle and dispensed as needed to replenish the bait dish. Although the solution isn't particularly hazardous when used in small quantities as described here, the bait dish should be placed out of reach of pets and children. Boiling, a type of phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmospheric pressure. ...

This formula works by desiccation and laceration. The solution begins to draw water from the ant's body, causing slow dehydration. Also, as the ants or their larvae transpire water, the solution becomes more concentrated, causing the boric acid to crystallize and lacerate the digestive tract. Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... For other uses, see Crystal (disambiguation). ... Upper and Lower gastrointestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), also called the digestive tract, or the alimentary canal, is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste. ...

In areas where the use of liquids or poisons are not desirable, Argentine ants may be repelled by ordinary talcum powder (baby powder) which contains talc. The powder does not appear to kill the ants, but they will try to avoid it after contact. Talc (derived from the Persian via Arabic talq) is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg3(SiO3)4 or Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. ...

Scientists have developed a way to use the scent of Argentine ants against them. The exoskeleton of the ants are covered with a hydrocarbon-laced secretion. They made a compound that is different, but similar, to the one that coats the ants. If the chemical is applied to an ant, the other members of the colony will kill it. The success of the chemical for controlling Argentine ants will depend on the cost, the ease of application, toxicity to non-target organisms and the frequency of reapplication. The chemical may work best in combination with other methods. An exoskeleton is an external anatomical feature that supports and protects an animals body, in contrast to the internal endoskeleton of, for example, a human. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... // Toxic and Intoxicated redirect here – toxic has other uses, which can be found at Toxicity (disambiguation); for the state of being intoxicated by alcohol see Drunkenness. ...

Notes

^  The recipe is scaled down from an article by Keith Muruoka in the Morgan Hill Times, Friday, December 27, 2002. The original formula called for 4 teaspoons boric acid powder, 3 cups of water and 1 cup of granulated sugar. December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

External links

• More about Argentine ants
• Ants' own chemical may control them