Species profiles

Ecosystem engineers that farm fungus in underground gardens across tropical forests.

Habitat

Humid forests and tropical woodlands throughout Central and South America.

Behavior

Build massive colonies with specialized castes and precise foraging trails.

Distribution

From Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia.

Diet

Leaf fragments used to cultivate the fungus that feeds the colony.

Invasive species known for its painful sting and rapid spread through disturbed habitats.

Habitat

Open fields, grasslands, and urban areas across warm climates.

Behavior

Highly aggressive and territorial; builds visible mounds and swarms when disturbed.

Distribution

South America, southern United States, Australia, and parts of Asia.

Diet

Omnivorous: feeds on insects, seeds, and human food sources.

Renowned for delivering the most painful sting among ants and its role within rainforest ecosystems.

Habitat

Lowland rainforests throughout Central and South America.

Behavior

Maintains small nests at tree bases; defensive but typically forage alone.

Distribution

From Nicaragua down to the Brazilian Amazon.

Diet

Feeds on nectar, fruits, and small arthropods.

Highly competitive invader displacing native ants across Mediterranean and temperate regions.

Habitat

Urban and peri-urban areas, gardens, and crops in mild climates.

Behavior

Forms supercolonies with low intraspecific aggression and persistent trails.

Distribution

Native to South America; spread across Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia.

Diet

Omnivorous; honeydew, insects, and human food sources.

Temperate forest engineer controlling pests and recycling nutrients.

Habitat

Conifer and mixed forests, sunlit clearings.

Behavior

Builds conical needle mounds; aggressive defense and organized foraging.

Distribution

Across Europe; locally introduced elsewhere.

Diet

Predatory on insects and collects honeydew.

Very common across urban areas; classic model for colony founding studies.

Habitat

Urban habitats, grasslands, and roadsides.

Behavior

Medium colonies; mass nuptial flights during summer.

Distribution

Europe and temperate Asia; introduced in North America.

Diet

Honeydew sugars and small arthropods.

Synanthropic species thriving in temperate cities.

Habitat

Parks, gardens, and pavement edges.

Behavior

Multiple interconnected nests; columnar foraging.

Distribution

Central and southern Europe; human-mediated spread.

Diet

Omnivorous, prefers seeds and small arthropods.

Tropical invader with specialized major workers for seed processing.

Habitat

Gardens, crops, and forest edges in tropical/subtropical regions.

Behavior

Polydomous and polygynous; spreads rapidly.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa (native) and widely introduced.

Diet

Seeds, insects, and sugary resources.

Nomadic Amazonian ant famed for hunting swarms reshaping arthropod communities.

Habitat

Humid Neotropical forests.

Behavior

Alternates stationary and nomadic phases; living bivouacs.

Distribution

From Mexico to the Brazilian Amazon.

Diet

Predatory on insects and other invertebrates.

Common in moist temperate habitats; introduced populations can be household pests.

Habitat

Wet meadows, wetland edges, shaded gardens.

Behavior

Polygynous colonies; functional sting.

Distribution

Temperate Eurasia; introduced to North America.

Diet

Omnivorous with preference for sugars.

Ultra-fast mandibles to seize prey or propel defensive jumps.

Habitat

Tropical/subtropical forests, leaf litter.

Behavior

Solitary ambush hunting; defensive jumping.

Distribution

Neotropics, Central to South America.

Diet

Small insects and other arthropods.

Common across North American homes and gardens; emits a sweet odor when crushed.

Habitat

Urban/peri-urban habitats under stones and wood.

Behavior

Flexible colony sizes; polydomous.

Distribution

Native to North America; strongly associated with urban habitats.

Diet

Sugary resources and household scraps.

Nests in wood and contributes to decomposition in temperate forests.

Habitat

Temperate forests; dead wood and wooden structures.

Behavior

Large colonies; nocturnal foraging; galleries in wood.

Distribution

Eastern North America.

Diet

Sap, honeydew, and soft-bodied prey.

Large carpenter ant common in open South American habitats.

Habitat

Savannas, shrublands, and forest edges.

Behavior

Diurnal foraging; nests in wood and compacted soils.

Distribution

Widespread across South America.

Diet

Omnivorous, nectar and arthropods.

Specialized granivorous species that stores and processes seeds in sophisticated underground granaries.

Habitat

Mediterranean arid and semi-arid zones, dry grasslands and coastal dunes.

Behavior

Large colonies with polymorphic workers; create well-defined trails for seed collection.

Distribution

Mediterranean basin: southern Europe, North Africa and the Near East.

Diet

Primarily seeds and grains; occasionally dead insects.

Distinctive arboreal ant that raises its heart-shaped abdomen when threatened.

Habitat

Mediterranean forests, shrublands and urban parks with woody vegetation.

Behavior

Polydomous arboreal colonies; characteristic defensive behavior with elevated abdomen.

Distribution

Southern Europe and North Africa; especially abundant in the Iberian Peninsula.

Diet

Aphid honeydew, extrafloral nectar and small arthropods.

Mediterranean generalist ant with small colonies and individual foraging behavior.

Habitat

Mediterranean shrublands, holm oak and pine forests with rich leaf litter.

Behavior

Solitary diurnal foraging; discreet nests under stones with multiple entrances.

Distribution

Iberian Peninsula and southern France; endemic to the western Mediterranean.

Diet

Omnivorous: seeds, dead insects, nectar and seed elaiosomes.

Subterranean species that rarely surfaces, builds characteristic mounds in grasslands.

Habitat

Meadows, pastures and golf courses; well-drained grassy areas.

Behavior

Almost entirely subterranean life; tends root aphids; twilight nuptial flights.

Distribution

Europe and western Asia; very common in British Isles.

Diet

Primarily honeydew from underground aphids; occasionally roots and fungi.

Large European carpenter ant that nests in dead wood of temperate forests.

Habitat

Coniferous and deciduous forests; stumps, fallen logs and standing dead wood.

Behavior

Large colonies with polymorphic workers; mainly nocturnal and crepuscular foraging.

Distribution

Central and northern Europe; from France to the Urals.

Diet

Aphid honeydew, nectar, dead insects and plant exudates.

Desert seed-harvesting ant from North America with an extremely painful sting and long-lived colonies.

Habitat

Deserts, arid grasslands and semi-arid zones of southwestern North America.

Behavior

Highly territorial colonies with vegetation clearings; organized foraging on radial trails.

Distribution

From southern United States to northern Mexico.

Diet

Primarily seeds; occasionally dead insects and plant material.

Australian ant building massive gravel mounds, fundamental in arid ecosystems.

Habitat

Arid and semi-arid zones of Australia; deserts, scrublands and dry grasslands.

Behavior

Builds gravel mounds several meters across; super-abundant colonies; diurnal foraging even in extreme heat.

Distribution

Central and western Australia; absent from humid coastal zones.

Diet

Omnivorous: nectar, insect honeydew, carrion and seeds.

Southeast Asian ant with shiny metallic spines and ability to construct silk nests.

Habitat

Tropical and subtropical forests, gardens and plantations of Southeast Asia.

Behavior

Silk nests on living leaves; non-aggressive, doesn't sting or bite; arboreal colonies.

Distribution

Southeast Asia: from India to Indonesia and the Philippines.

Diet

Insect honeydew, extrafloral nectar and occasionally small invertebrates.