It is estimated that in excess of 10,000 species of ants, worldwide, share the scientific order Hymenoptera (meaning ‘membranous wings’); along with wasps, hornets and bees.
All ants are social insects, living in groups or colonies. The ants that live within the colony are not all the same! Individuals are specialized to perform various tasks, and no ant does anything alone. These specialized groups are known as castes. An in-born sense of duty has created a situation where all castes must live together co-operatively in order to survive. Adult castes of ants are made up of three forms – worker, male and female, and together with immature stages, (egg, larvae and pupa) form the colony.
The workers are sterile females and they are the most numerous of the castes. Workers perform the majority of tasks within the nest, while a smaller amount have the responsibility to gather food outside the nest.
Specially fed female workers, whilst in the larval stage will develop into queens. Many ant species have more than one queen in the nest. Queens mate only once and become egg- producing machines until they die. The queens may live up to 15 years, while the workers burn out and die from within a few months to a few years, depending upon the species.
There are fewer males than females in the colony, and they die with a few weeks of mating.
Some species conduct nuptial flights, although both queens and males of many species are poor fliers, and mating and dispersal to develop new colonies is found to be more easily carried out with a process called ‘budding’, where the newly mated queen and a small group of workers abandon the nest to an old queen, and select a new site where they then set about creating a new home and colony.
Ants eat an extremely wide range of foods, with a strong preference for many of the food groups that humans enjoy.

Coastal Brown Ant (Pheidole megacephala) or Big Headed Ant.

Size: 1.5 – 2.5 mm. Colouring: Ranging from light yellowish brown to brown.
Often located within buildings, crevices in brickwork and cavity walls. Sometimes known to nest around paths and rockeries.
Feeds mainly on material of animal origin, including meat particles, dead animals etc. Use fatty/greasy baits.

Coastal Brown Ant
Brown Coastal ant

Pharaoh’s Ant ( Monomorium pharaonis)
Size: 1.5 – 2 mm. Colouring: Light yellowish brown to dark brown.
Forms very large colonies with multiple queens. Known to travel long distances to feed.
Nests indoors, in roof voids, wall cavities, beneath floors, around foundations and footings.
Shows a preference for warmth such near heating ducts and skillion roofs. Commonly found in homes with exposed beam ceilings.
Feeds on almost any food type. Shows a preference for proteins such as meat and blood but will gladly feast on fatty foods, vegetables as well as sweets. Use multiple bait types.

Pharaoh's Ant
Pharaoh’s Ant

Argentine Ant (Linepithema humile)
Size: 1.5 – 3.0 mm. Colouring: Light brown to brown.
Nests inside rotting logs and exposed soil. Multiple queens. Migrates indoors with wet weather.
Shows a distinct preference for sweet foods but will eat meat, insects, fruit, seeds and honeydew. Known to damage soiled clothing.
Use sweet baits initially

Argentine Ant

Red imported Fire Ant DANGEROUS

(RIFA) (Solenopsis invicta) Red Imported Fire Ant

Size: Variety of sizes in same nest ranging from 2 – 6mm. (A significant identifying feature of Fire Ants) Colouring: Coppery-brown in colour on the head and body, with a darker abdomen
Nests have no obvious entry or exit holes on top of them.
Distinguished by their aggressive behaviour, particularly near the nest
Considered dangerous to humans. Literally hundreds may attack if their area of defence has been invaded. Can cause anaphylactic shock and hospital treatment should be sought. Deaths have occurred overseas.

See further information on Red Imported Fire ants at bottom of page

Red Imported Fire ant

Jumper Ant DANGEROUS

(Myrmecia pilosula) Jumper Ant

Jumper ants, or 'Jack Jumper' ants, have a well-earned reputation for being highly aggressive. They do actually sometimes jump in order to attack an intruder. Although they belong to the same genus as bull-ants, in general they are smaller. They are relatively easy to distinguish from bull-ants due to their bright orange or yellow jaws. Their venom is as allergenic as that of bull-ants, and has caused human fatalities from anaphylactic shock.

ROLE OF THE ANT IN HUMAN STRUCTURES

Although most ants are neither beneficial or of little economic consequence to humans, any ant species that enters a home is generally considered a pest. Relatively few species enter homes or buildings and still fewer nest indoors and become a major problem.
Most ants entering structures are attracted there because of a specific need for food or moisture. They can be responsible for contaminating food and sometimes damage fabrics, however some ants will also bite and sting causing health concerns. (See Red Imported Fire ants ant bottom of this page)
The winged reproductive forms when swarming, will at times cause deep anxiety to homeowners as they are often confused with swarming termites.
Carpenter ants can cause damage to timber structures. Their damage is seldom of a serious structural nature, as carpenter ants prefer to nest in pre-existing voids, forming galleries in already decayed timber.
Other species of ants commonly found in the home or garden include: the Whitefooted Ant (will enter and reside inside a house and is attracted to sweet foods); The Black House Ant (will also nest indoors and enjoys sweet food) Pharaoh’s Ant (seldom nests in outdoors situations, prefers protein rich foods) Odorous Ant (nests under patios and crevices and is less noticeable, although may be found in cupboards and stoves searching out protein rich foods.

ROLE IN HUMAN HEALTH

Ants have the potential to be detrimental to human health. Their presence under certain conditions can pose a serious human health risk. In hospitals, health-care facilities, food processing plants, food packaging plants and food preparation areas of various structures, the presence of ants should not be tolerated due to their potential disease transmission capabilities. Human disease organisms have been discovered on the exoskeletons of ants foraging in hospitals, although the disease vectoring capabilities of ants has yet to be fully determined.
Ants that sting or bite are more of a concern, as those that sting in particular, do emit a toxin that can cause a serious reaction in humans, not to mention the pain and discomfort.
The Pharaoh’s Ant commonly trails into homes, leaving gritty calling cards that cause some concern to the homeowners. The gritty deposit is usually a compound of dead ants, faecal droppings, bits of timber, and any other detritus that obstructs their passage as they trail through the structure. Although there is nothing to suggest that the deposit is a health concern, nonetheless the nuisance value is immense.

ANT CONTROL
Homeowner expectation is important in controlling a nuisance ant problem. There are no total cures, or any product registered that will totally eliminate all ants from a property. (Nor should we really wish for that). Any method that would provide a total eradication would almost certainly have serious human and environmental effects
Whilst sanitation improvement, elimination of leaks, moisture availability and the removal of attractive plants will assist in reducing the problem, by their very nature, ants will always be difficult to control without some form of insecticidal intervention.
Ideally their nest should be destroyed, however as ants may travel long distances, the nest may not be even in the property suffering the problem. Drenching, broad acre spraying, surface sprays, and dusting are all useful tools although ant baits are now the primary tools in eliminating problem ants.
Some homeowners have the erroneous belief that if you have ants in their property structures, then they cannot have termites. Although some species of ants are natural predators of termites, many species are not.
Should ants be present in a dwelling, it may well be an indication that they have been attracted to termites, and the situation should always be thoroughly investigated.

FIRE ANTS Solenopsis invicta, are serious pests that have been detected in Queensland, (and now believed to be in northern New South Wales). They inflict an extremely painful sting and if not eradicated will seriously affect our lifestyle. They are the greatest ecological threat to Australia since the introduction of the rabbit and are potentially worse than the cane toad.

What do they look like?

Fire ants look very much like ordinary house or garden ants.
Fire ants:

Are small
Are coppery-brown in colour on the head and body, with a darker abdomen
Come in a variety of sizes within one nest, ranging from 2mm to 6 mm. (This is an important distinguishing feature of fire ants)
Have nests with no obvious entry or exit holes on top of them
Can be distinguished by their aggressive behaviour, particularly near the nest

Their nests can appear as dome-shaped mounds, up to 40cm high, or can be found next to, or underneath other objects found on the ground, such as timber, logs, rocks, pavers, bricks etc. Mounds will not always be evident, but are usually found in open areas such as lawns, pastures, along roadsides and unused cropland. Mounds are rarely found in frequently cultivated areas. This species could easily be confused with the common coastal brown ant and as well as some local native ants
To make sure any detections of fire ant made by the public are immediately reported to NSW Agriculture, the pest has been made notifiable under the Plant Diseases Act (1924).
This means that you have a legal obligation to report suspected red fire ant infestations as soon as possible

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