Little Black Ant

The little black ant is a small, native North American species commonly encountered in gardens, lawns, and occasionally inside homes. Despite its diminutive size, it is one of the more frequently noticed backyard ants due to its glossy black color and habit of forming long, visible foraging trails.

Colonies nest in a variety of locations, including open soil, under stones or logs, within rotting wood, and in the mortar of walls or pavement, and they can be polygynous, containing multiple egg-laying queens that allow colonies to grow quite large over time.

While primarily an outdoor species, little black ants sometimes forage indoors, particularly following rain or during periods of temperature extremes, when they seek shelter and food inside structures.

• Very small workers, about 1.5-2 mm long
• Uniformly shiny, jet-black to dark brown body
• Two small nodes on the petiole
• Monomorphic workers, meaning all are roughly the same size
• Forms long, meandering foraging trails, sometimes far from the nest
• Distinguished from odorous house ants by its glossy black color and lack of a strong odor when crushed

Little black ants are found throughout much of the United States and southern Canada, inhabiting lawns, gardens, woodland edges, and urban landscaping. Nests are commonly built in open or exposed soil, under rocks, logs, or debris, within decaying wood, or in cracks in pavement and masonry.

This species is omnivorous, feeding on a wide variety of foods including other insects, seeds, and sugary substances, and it readily tends aphids and other honeydew-producing insects. Colonies are typically polygynous, with multiple queens contributing to a shared, expanding population, and workers forage in extended trails that can range considerably from the nest.

Little black ants undergo complete metamorphosis through egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. Because colonies often contain multiple queens, brood production can be extensive, supporting large populations. Winged reproductive ants are produced in warmer months and take part in mating flights to establish new colonies, though the species may also expand existing colonies through nest budding.