Monomorium carbonarium
| Monomorium carbonarium | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Monomorium |
| Species: | M. carbonarium
|
| Binomial name | |
| Monomorium carbonarium (Smith, F., 1858)
| |
Monomorium carbonarium, also referred to the little black ant in North America, is a species of ant native to North America and Europe.[1] It is a shiny black color, the workers about 1 to 2 mm long and the queens 4 to 5 mm long. It is a monomorphic species, with only one caste of worker, and polygynous, meaning a nest may have more than one queen. A colony is usually moderately sized with only a few thousand workers.[citation needed]
M. carbonarium are scavengers that will consume anything from bird droppings to dead insects. They are predators of codling moth larvae, and also of fall webworm.[2][3] Workers may forage in households, but nest in soil mounds. They harvest the honeydew of aphids such as the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines).[4]
During mid-summer the queens and males perform the nuptial flight, mating in midair. The males die shortly after. Each queen constructs a new nest, sheds its wings, and lays eggs. The development from egg to adult takes about a month.[citation needed]
In a laboratory setting queens were found to live about one year and workers about four months.[citation needed]
Formerly separate species, Monomorium minimum and Monomorium trageri were synonymized under M. carbonarium by Seifert in 2025.[5]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Monomorium carbonarium. AntWeb.
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- ^ Herbert, J. J. and D. J. Horn. (2008). Effect of ant attendance by Monomorium minimum (Buckley) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on predation and parasitism of the soybean aphid Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Environmental Entomology 37(5), 1258-63.
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington vol. 14-15. Entomological Society of Washington, 1913. pg 70.
- Monomorium minimum, the little black ant. The Ants of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
- Little Black Ant, Monomorium minimum. Center for Urban & Structural Entomology. Texas A&M University Agrilife Extension. 2010.
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