Indiana provides a suitable breeding spot for ants as these insects can thrive and raise their population in the ideal climatic conditions providing warmth and moisture.
Types of ants in Indiana include black Carpenter ants, red Carpenter ants, acrobat ants, high noon ants, thief ants, odorous house ants, red pavement ants, fire ants, velvet ants, little black ants, rover ants, small yellow ants, cornfield ants, and acorn ants.
Almost a few hundred ant species are common in Indiana. They are widely spread outdoors and indoors and makes their nests in lawns, gardens, kitchen, bathroom, etc.
| Ants in Indiana | Appearance | Dietary habits |
| Black or red carpenter ants | Black or red | Sugary food, honeydew, insects |
| Acrobat ants | Black and light brown | Dead insects, honeydew |
| High noon ants | Red, black, or brown color | Honeydew, dead insects |
| Thief ants | Yellowish-brown | Insect larvae, nuts, butter |
| Odorous house ants | Black or dark brown | Grease, dead insects, sweet |
| Red pavement ants | Black or brownish | Meat, cheese, dead insects |
| Fire ants | Reddish brown | Fruits, worms, insects |
| Velvet ants | Orange or reddish | Flower nectar, dead insects |
| Little black ants | Brownish black | Plant secretion, grease, fruits |
| Rover ants | Reddish brown | Honeydew, nectar, crumbs |
| Small yellow ants | Golden yellow | Honeydew |
| Cornfield ants | Light or dark brown | Honeydew, seeds, nectar |
| Acorn ants | Brownish yellow | Fruit flies, honeydew, crickets |
Black and red carpenter ants
The black carpenter ants are wood-burrowing insects causing massive damage on a larger scale over time because they usually build a nest within wooden structures.
Moreover, they do not eat wood but prefer to consume plant-based foods and dead insects according to the availability of food type.
These insects build larger colonies based on thousands of members that typically live outdoors and attack wooden logs but can come indoors in search of nutrition and shelter.
Red carpenter ants are deadly, like red fire ants, as they do not bite unless disturbed, but they can damage buildings because they chew wooden material.
Furthermore, these are also known to be red wood due to their wood-burrowing nature and eat plant and animal-based food.
Acrobat ants
The acrobat ants are known to form long trails, as they can reach almost a hundred feet from their nest and get back without getting lost.
These appear in black and light brown colors and reach almost 3mm in length at maximum. They have 11-segmented antennae and a 3-segmented club.
The presence of dirt, debris, and wood scrapes indicates their infestation as they get attracted to moldy surfaces and wet wood.
It is better to seal all the entry spots using silicone caulk to get rid of them and use natural repellents in the breeding season to get control over their attacks.
You have to keep firewood and trees away from homes because these insects can reach inside the house by climbing the tree branches.
High noon ants
Forelius pruinosus is one of the common ants found in Indiana and are native to North American regions. These insects have almost 2 to 3mm long bodies and appear in red, black, or brown color.
They have good resistance against extreme climatic conditions and can survive at high temperatures and dry conditions. Therefore, they are common in open fields and do not pose serious threats.
Moreover, you can find their nests under the bigger rocks comprising thousands of insects. These omnivorous insects prefer to eat honeydew, dead insects, and their carcasses to get nutrition.
Furthermore, these insects build mutual relations with catalpa trees because they protect trees from the attack of caterpillars and get nectar from them.
Thief ants
These yellowish-brown insects are usually found in narrow spaces and woodwork because their small body size allows them to sneak through tiny gaps.
They eat dead insects for their nutrition and steal larvae of other insects. These tiny creatures do not bite or sting but are responsible for causing contamination and transmitting diseases.
Moreover, it has 10-segmented antennae, a 2-segmented club, and a spineless thorax.
You can identify these insects by well-defined food trails and prefer to eat greasy foods like nuts and butter.
Odorous house ants
These species are common in Indiana and can be identified by their shiny gaster and give off a pungent odor that can be detected when you get closer to their colonies.
Their colonies consist of more than one queen and thousands of workers, so it is pretty hard to get rid of these nuisance pests from home until you kill every queen.
You can find them living in the kitchen because they get attracted to places where they can find plenty of food and live under the sink cabinet to get moisture.
Red pavement ants
These are red pavement ants if you see black or brownish insects with 3-segmented bodies emerging from under the concrete slabs on sideways or driveways.
Moreover, you can see them moving in outdoors commonly because they live in soil mounds in lawns, backyards, and driveways.
It is challenging to get control over their larger population as every single colony comprises thousands of insects that can get inside the home during unfavorable weather.
Fire ants
These are common pests in the southern USA but are not widely spread in Indiana. These have incredible powder of stinging and biting their prey, making them die due to toxicity.
Moreover, multiple stings of these insects can cause swelling or redness in the affected area that gives a painful sensation and seems like burning.
It is better to get rid of these dangerous pests at home to avoid undesired stings that can cause infection. You can find their colonies under the ground as they prefer to live within the soil.
Velvet ants
Velvet ants are called cow-killers but are actually wasps that look like ants and appear in orange or reddish color with black stripes all over their bodies.
These insects are known for their deadly stings that can make a large animal die when they inflict a poisonous sting on prey or predator multiple times.
They have a shorter lifespan of around 10 to 11 months and are diurnal insects that forage in the daytime. Moreover, they hide under piles of leaves or trash during hot days.
Asian needle ants are one of their species known to cause disturbance in Indiana at a large scale because it was the first ant in Indiana to possess a poison sac and a stinger.
Little black ants
These are dark brown to black ants having shiny sheen on their bodies, making it easy to identify these tiny insects ranging between 1.5 and 2mm body length.
These tiny insects can sneak under the carpet and reach the wall voids and baseboards to live there. I have seen a long trail of these blackish insects coming towards my picnic basket to get food.
Moreover, there is nothing to worry about regarding the possible danger because these insects cannot cause significant harm due to their small size stingers and tiny mandibles.
Accordingly, these small weapons cannot help inflict a painful bite because these organs cannot penetrate deep into the skin tissues to cause injuries.
Furthermore, their colonies cannot survive long because the queens can live in ideal conditions for only 12 to 14 months, while workers die within 3 to 4 months.
Rover ants
They are not considered dangerous pests because they do not bite or sting due to the lack of a stinger. These insects live in shrubs, mulch, and decaying wood material.
The dark rover ants are significantly smaller and almost equal to thief ants with reddish-brown bodies. These insects have 9-segmented antennae and larger eyes on their head.
Primarily, they feed on honeydew and plant secretions and choose dark or hidden spots to live in. You can find them usually on the wet area of the ground as they are moisture-loving insects.
They have smaller colonies based on a few hundred or a thousand members but connect new colonies with the old ones by creating a new one at a close distance.
Small yellow ants
The small yellow ants give off a particular scent that smells like a lemon so that you can identify these creatures by their distinctive odor. They build nests close to house foundations and lawns.
Moreover, their number increases in spring when they reproduce and produce a new batch of eggs which turn into adults and reach inside the house in search of food and moisture.
Window screens and sealed cracks can stop these insects from becoming a nuisance in the home. In addition, you have to kill their colonies that can be present under the concrete slabs.
Cornfield ants
It is known as a lawn ant, appearing in light or dark brownish color, and is usually present in open fields, lawns, and cornfields.
These insects are named for their ability to hatch the aphids living on corn roots and transfer them to the growing corn, which can cause damage to the crop.
Their nests look crater-like or like a bowl and are located on pavement cracks underneath bricks, sidewalks, and rotting wood.
Moreover, they are not indoor pests and live in the open fields or outdoors, but their presence indicates moisture problems and food spills that are sweet in taste.
These tiny insects reproduce between August and September in late summer or early spring. The queens take responsibility for the propagation or nutrition of the colony, while the males die after mating.
Acorn ants
Temnothorax curvispinosus or acorn ants are commonly present in forested areas of the US and are known for their ground-dwelling behavior.
These insects live under larger rocks or within the soil and spend the most time in underground tunnels as only workers come out on the ground to get food.
These insect-eating organisms choose fruit flies and crickets to get nutrition in addition to the sugary food material. They are polygynous, as their colonies comprise more than a queen.
Their colonies are smaller in size based on a few hundred insects that are harmful as they can sting. This species is also found to be living in the twigs and acorns and are named for its habitat.
Accordingly, their small colonies can easily fit inside an acorn and choose ground litter to spend their lives peacefully on the forest floor.
Furthermore, these tiny insects are known to be peaceful creatures because they do not cause any interference indoors and survive on outdoor insects.
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