Wonders of Wildlife: Little Black Ant

Little Black Ant

Scientific Name: Monomorium minimum  

Found in Alabama: Statewide

Diet: Carnivore (eats animals)
Little Black ant in habitat
Little Black Ant in Habitat
Wikimedia - Diego Delso
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Learn more about...
 
Classification Button
Identification
Adaptations Button
Life Cycle
Habitat Needs
Ecological Role Button
 


 
CLASSIFICATION
   
What type of animal am I?
  • I am an invertebrate (an animal without a spine or backbone).
  • I am cold-blooded, so I cannot control my body temperature.
  • I have a stiff covering on the outside of my body called an exoskeleton.
  • I breathe through small holes in my abdomen called spiracles.
  • I have six legs.
  • I am normally recognized without wings, but some individuals (males and the queen) do have wings.
Scientists use basic traits to group animals into different taxonomic classes.  

For a taxonomic classification chart comparing key traits of common backyard wildlife,
CLICK HERE!
The Little Black Ant is an INSECT!
 























 
 
IDENTIFICATION TIPS
   
ADULT ANT
Little Black Ant group
Little Black Ants - Monomorium minimum
Bugguide.net - Sam Houston
Click image to enlarge it
 
  • About 1/16 of an inch long (smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil)
  • Shiny black and reddish-brown coloration
  • Antennae have club-shaped tips
   
 
     
QUEEN WORKER (FEMALE) MALE
  • Larger than the males and workers 
  • Have wings
  • Smaller than queens and males 
  • Do not have wings
  • Smaller than queens but large than workers 
  • Have wings
 
little black ant queen
Little Black Ant Queen
April Nobile - From www.AntWeb.org
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little black ant worker
Little Black Ant Worker
April Nobile - From www.AntWeb.org
Click image to enlarge it		  
Monomorium male
Monomorium sp. male
© Seth Burgess, used by permission
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ADAPTATIONS
 
PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS
 
Little Black Ants are very small:
  • They can fit in small, tight places because of their small size.
  • Predators might have a harder time finding or accessing ants due to thier size. 
 
  Little Black Ants are very strong:
  • Little black ants can carry 10 - 50 times their body weight. 
  • Their joints (where their different body parts connects) can experience more than 3,000 times their body weight without breaking.
  • This allows an ant to carry a large piece of food (that weigh as much as 10-50 ants) back to its colony.
 
  Little Black Ants can communicate with each other:  
  • Little black ants communicate by releasing chemicals called pheromones to communicate.  
  • An ant can release a trail of pheromones (like a scent) to lead other ants to food.
  • Instead of using sight, they use their antennae to follow this scented trail.   
  • The pheromones can also tell others to attack intruders.  
  • Ants can also communicate by touching each other and through vibrations.
 
  Little Black Ants can walk on their feet while hanging upside down:
  • Little black ants have sticky (adhesive) pads on their feet that help them walk up tree trunks and along the bottom of leaves or branches when they are upside down.
 
 
BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS
 
  Little black ants are diurnal:
  • They are active during the day (diurnal).
 
  Little black ants work as a group:
  • Because of their small size, little black ants must work as a group to defend their resources. 
  • Each colony can have over 2,000 worker ants.
  • Worker ants use their stingers to defend against larger ants that might compete for the same resources.
 
  Little black ants protect themselves with a toxin:
  • Gaster flagging is a defensive behavior used by the little black ant.
  • The back end of the ant is called the gaster.
  • When a little black ant is stressed, it raises its gaster and releases a toxin (chemical poison produced by a living organism).
  • The poisons repel competitors that may be after the same resources.
  • If a competitor does not respond to this warning, the ant will engage in combat.
Ants in Battle (species unknown)
Dreamstime
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  Little black ants are eusocial:
  • Ants are considered a eusocial species which means they live in colonies, divide the labor and reproductive duties, and have overlapping generations.
  • The colonies contain mostly worker ants (females) and queen ants.
  • Each colony can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals with 2-38 queens per colony.
  • The queen ants are fed more as larvae (babies) and grow to be larger. 
  • The queen has the responsibility of reproducing (producing more babies).
  • Other females that are not fed as much as larvae become workers. 
  • The workers are responsible for keeping the colony clean and feeding the brood (the babies).
  • Males only live for a few weeks during the summer when breeding occurs.
  • Males and queens have wings, allowing them to spread out to find mates.
  • The queen may remove her wings after forming a new colony.
 
  Little black ants and aphids help each other survive:
  • Little black ants and aphids have a mutualistic relationship (when both species benefit).
  • While feeding on plants, aphids produce a sugary liquid called honeydew.
  • Ants rely heavily on honeydew as a food source, so they use their toxins (chemical poison produced by organisms) and stingers to protect the aphids against other ants that compete for the same resource.
  • This behavior benefits the aphids by providing protection and benefits the ants by ensuring they have access to the honeydew.
Ant, Aphid, and Honeydew
Wikimedia - Dawidi, Johannesburg, South Africa
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LIFE CYCLE
   
Monarch Life Cycle
An Ant's Life Cycle
Wikimedia - Tate Holbrook
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Metamorphosis is the process of physical change that some animals go through as they transform from a larvae into an adult.
   
 
Four Life Cycle Stages of the Little Black Ant
   

1. Egg: 
  • Females lay soft-shelled eggs in chambers in the soil.
   

2. Larvae: 
  • The  larvae (young) are soft-bodied and do not have legs or antennae.
  • The queen feeds the larvae.
   

3. Pupa: 
  • The larvae enter a pupa stage in which they do not move and are not fed.
   

4. Adult: 
  • After a few weeks in the pupa stage, they emerge as adult black ants.
   

Life Span: 
  • Queen: several decades
  • Workers (females): several months
  • Males: several weeks
   

  
 

  
HABITAT NEEDS
 
NATURAL
Habitat Needs		 ADULTS YOUNG
Food
  • Little black ants feed on honeydew, a sugary liquid produced by aphids after ingesting plant material.
  • They also feed on dead insects.
  • They occasionally feed on some live insects.
  • Larvae (young) are fed regurgitated (food that has been spit back up) food provided by the worker ants.
Water
  • Necessary hydration obtained through food sources. 
  • Ants may also drink from dew drops on plants or from puddles.
Shelter
  • Build shallow nest cavities in places that have heat and moisture such as under debris, wood, and rocks.
  • They can be found in habitats such as forests, meadows, and prairies.
  • They also nest in above ground structures like rotted logs and limbs.
  • The young are kept in a special area within the nest, called the brood chamber.
Places to Raise Young
  • The brood (larval or young ants) are raised and cared for in chambers just beneath the surface of the soil.
  






























 
 








 
BACKYARD
Habitat Needs		 ADULTS YOUNG
Food
  • Do not remove aphids on plant material. 
  • Do not remove rotting logs where other insects can be found.
  • Young are fed regurgitated (spit up) food provided by the worker ants.
  • Do not remove aphids from plants.
  • Do not remove rotting logs that provide habitat for insects.
Water
  • Necessary hydration is obtained through food sources.
  • Provide native plants that support aphid populations, and do not remove rotting logs.  
  • Ants may also drink from dew drops on plants or from puddles.
Shelter
  • Do not remove leaf litter, rotting logs, and rocks.
Places to Raise Young
  • Leave leaf litter and rotting logs to allow the ants to create a nest chamber where brood is raised and cared for.
  


 








 





















 



  
ECOLOGICAL ROLE
   
Animals play an important ecological role in the health of habitats and ecosystems.
   

Food Source: 
  • The main predators (animals that eat them) of ants include other ants, beetles, birds, frogs, toads, and spiders.
   

Decomposer: 
  • Little black ants eat dead and decaying insects. 
  • This helps remove the insects and then return the nutrients to the soil.
   

Pollinator: 
  • The little black ant may serve as a pollinator - an animal that moves pollen, the powdery yellow substance found in flowers, from one plant to another.
  • Pollen in flowers can stick to the tiny hairs on the ant while it searches for nectar or honeydew to eat.
   

Spreads Seeds:
  • The little black ant carries seeds from the plant which helps the plant reproduce and create new plants.
   



 


INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS SPECIES
 
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