AboutJim Hyland Expertise I am an expert in Forestry, Forest Entomology, Forest Pest Control, and Forest Health. Extensive knowledge in Identification of insects and diseases of trees. Expert on Bark beetles and other insects that attack forests. Also a Registrated Forester with extensive knowledge in the management and care of forests.
Experience 29 years as State Pest Management Chief in a Southern state. Extensive knowledge in Forestry.
BS with major in Forest Management and Entomology Registered Forester Certified Pesticide Appicator
Expert in Forestry and insect and dieases of trees.
Question I live in palmdale, california. I am 61, so i,ve been around a long time. Yet I have never seen an ant so small. It measures
only .002 thousandths of an inch in width and 005" in length. Have I discovered a new species?
Answer There are several small ants.
Thief ants are tiny ants less than 1/16inch (1.3 to 1.8 mm) in length, probably the smallest ants found infesting structures. The workers are light brown or yellow in color. The antenna has 10 total segments and ends in a 2-segmented club. The first segment of the antenna is about half the length of the head. It has a sting at the tip of the abdomen, but the sting may not be exerted and visible.
Thief ants are found throughout the United States. The thief ant is likely not a single species but rather a group of closely related species. It has been estimated that dozens of species and subspecies could be involved in this group. This ant is nicknamed a "thief' because it commonly lives near the nests of other ants and "steals" their larvae and food to feed its own colony. They enter the other ants' nests by means of tiny passages that are too narrow for the larger ants. Thief ants may be considered beneficial because they kill and eat the immature forms of some pest ant species. In Florida, they are known to be predators of fire ant queens.
I doubt it is a new species.
Here is a web link to some of the small ants in the US
