Jamaica Crazy Ant

Paratrechina pubens

Appearance

• Workers between 1.5 and 3mm long.
  
• Golden-brown to reddish-brown in colour.
  
• Appear striped after feeding as the thin membrane covering their abdomen stretches.
  
• Do not sting.
  
• Very long antennae that is almost twice the width of their head.

Lifecycle

• Worker ants forage in a very erratic manner and in loosely defined trails.
  
• Larvae feed on secretions from the queen's salivary glands until the first worker ants emerge.
  
• Worker ants continue with larval care, nest building and food foraging.

Habits

• Worker ants scavenge for solid and liquid foods including other insects, meats, seeds, fruit and honeydew from plant sucking insects.
  
• Nest Locations tend to be in existing gaps, cracks and crevices but also in dirt, plant cavities, trash and building foundations.
• They may excavate significant amounts of soil during nest construction.
  
• They take their common name from their erratic, rapid movements,