Body charactersĪnts, like all insects, have three main body regions. The alcohol will kill your ants quickly and allow you to examine them more closely. Use the end of a soft cloth, or a brush, wet with alcohol to pick up the ants and drop them in your container. The easiest way to capture and kill ants for examination is to fill a small vial, pill container, or jar with a small amount of ethanol or rubbing alcohol. If you are still unsure of the ant species after observing them in action, collect a few to examine under a hand lens, magnifier, or microscope, if you have one. Also, take note of when the ants are active–are they active mostly during the day, or are they most active at night. If you can follow the ant trail back to the nest, observe the nest itself. When you see an ant trail, observe whether the different workers on the trail vary in size, or whether they are all identical in size. They can usually be seen hunting as a colony for food along well-established foraging trails. All ants live in colonies and rarely travel alone. Before, or while, you collect an ant to identify, look around the area for other similar ants. Characters used to identify antsīefore you can identify an ant, you should familiarize yourself with a few key things to look for. Once you know the species of ant in your home, you can determine where it is likely to nest, what kind of damage it causes, and what kind of control measures are most effective. The following pictures and descriptions can be used to help you identify some of the most common Texas ant species. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify some of the most common species of household ants without a microscope. In many cases, the best way to confirm the identity of an ant is to enlist the help of a pest management professional. Odorous house ants are attracted to honey and other sweets.Īnts can be a challenge to identify without the proper equipment and experience.
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