The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

In my yard there are two ant species that have nests everywhere, but I don't know what they are.

This is the first species. They are yellow/orange in color and can sometimes have a darker or lighter yellow abdomen. They are about 2-3 mm long and are really fast. They almost seemed like crazy ants but I think their heads are too big to be those. I frequently see them foraging around Solenopsis Invicta colonies or other colonies.





The second unknown species look a lot like black crazy ants, but again, these ants heads look different than crazy ants. After taking closeup pictures of them with my macro lens, in some pictures I could easily see lots of hairs on these ants. They seem to be very shy, not showing any aggression towards me. They are a shiny black or dark brown color and 2-3 mm long.





Here is a major worker

Awesome pictures! First ones look like Dorymyrmex flavus to me. I think the second species could be Dorymyrmex insanus. Was that major from the other two colonies? Seems like a random Pheidole major to me . I'm from the north so I am no expert on these species, that is just how they appear to me. Good luck and Welcome!

WillWithAnts wrote:Awesome pictures! First ones look like Dorymyrmex flavus to me. I think the second species could be Dorymyrmex insanus. Was that major from the other two colonies? Seems like a random Pheidole major to me . I'm from the north so I am no expert on these species, that is just how they appear to me. Good luck and Welcome!

I googled both the species and the ones you suggested are the correct species without a doubt! I took pictures of the black ants from 2 different colonies, but both of the colonies' majors look exactly the same. Thanks so much, I was dying to know what species they were! I honesty thought no one would be able to identify them since I couldn't find ants that look really similar to them on the web.

Aaron567 wrote:

WillWithAnts wrote:Awesome pictures! First ones look like Dorymyrmex flavus to me. I think the second species could be Dorymyrmex insanus. Was that major from the other two colonies? Seems like a random Pheidole major to me . I'm from the north so I am no expert on these species, that is just how they appear to me. Good luck and Welcome!

I googled both the species and the ones you suggested are the correct species without a doubt! I took pictures of the black ants from 2 different colonies, but both of the colonies' majors look exactly the same. Thanks so much, I was dying to know what species they were! I honesty thought no one would be able to identify them since I couldn't find ants that look really similar to them on the web.

No problem! Really glad I could help! This is where I go to when I don't know where to start looking: http://www.myrmecos.net/north-american-ants/
Are you keeping anything right now?

Um, no the first species is an Iridomyrmex sp. and the second species is a Pheidole sp.

Mdrogun wrote:Um, no the first species is an Iridomyrmex sp. and the second species is a Pheidole sp.

Does Iridomyrmex sp. live in the US? The second one could be Pheidole sp. or Dorymyrmex Insanus, they both look similar.

Aaron567 wrote:

Mdrogun wrote:Um, no the first species is an Iridomyrmex sp. and the second species is a Pheidole sp.

Does Iridomyrmex sp. live in the US? The second one could be Pheidole sp. or Dorymyrmex Insanus, they both look similar.

I think the original ID of Dorymyrmex flavus for the top species might be right. Sorry, for some reason I assumed you lived in Australia.

If it is Pheidole sp. I think it would be P. obscurithorax

WillWithAnts wrote:No problem! Really glad I could help! This is where I go to when I don't know where to start looking: http://www.myrmecos.net/north-american-ants/
Are you keeping anything right now?

I currently have 3 queens in test tubes waiting for their eggs to hatch. 2 Solenopsis Invicta and 1 unknown tiny queen.

I found another unknown ant species and I posted about it. I'm almost certain they are leaf cutter ants.

WillWithAnts wrote:If it is Pheidole sp. I think it would be P. obscurithorax

Probably. According to Antwiki.org, the species is established in Escambia (the county I live in), Santa Rosa, Fort Walton, and Okaloosa. Apparently the only states the species lives in North America is Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi.