Argentine Ant

Linepithema humile

Appearance

•  2.5 - 3mm, yellow-brown with brown abdomen.
•  a single node in the waist.
•  Argentine ants do not have a soldier caste, so all the individuals out scavenging for food are the same size.
•  The adult winged males, which are larger than the workers but much smaller than the winged queens.

Lifecycle

•  Multi-queen colonies
•  The eggs of Argentine ants are elliptical in outline, pearly-white in colour, and take from 12 days to nearly 2 months to hatch.
•  Larvae hatch within 11 to 16 days, and the pupal stage lasts for 10 to 25 days.
•  The nests are highly mobile, with the workers moving in with eggs and larvae over a short period and abandoning the nest if it is disturbed or the food is used up.

Habits

• Each colony could 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.
•  Argentine ants became a major domestic pest by invading houses and swarming over foodstuffs, including entering fridges, unopened packets and have even been known to follow the spiral down inside screw-top jars to get at the contents
•  They can also become a serious problem with stored products, particularly those of a sweet nature and, in gardens and nurseries.