Pharaoh ant

Pharaoh ant ( Monomorium pharaonis )

The pharaoh ant ( Monomorium pharaonis ) is one of the smallest ant species and belongs to the subfamily of red ants ( Myrmicinae ). It is native to Asia and was introduced in the 19th century in Europe. It lives primarily in buildings with consistently high temperature and is fought as disease carriers.

Features

The workers are 2 mm long, amber and have a dark abdomen tip. The males are slightly larger and black. The Queen is up to 4.5 millimeters in size and slightly darker than the workers. The nests of their colonies defines the Pharaoh ant to to well hidden places in the masonry. The warmest place in the house is preferred. A nest always has several Queens. Undisturbed populations may consist of more than 300,000 individual animals. If a colony is too large, the daughter colonies are created, are still at the beginning with the mother colony in conjunction, but can also become independent later. The Pharaoh ant is omnivorous and preferably sugar and strong protein-containing substances, but also feeds on all kinds of food. Unlike the native ants in Central Europe, the Pharaoh ant is active throughout the year.

Occurrence

The Pharaoh ant can survive in temperate latitudes only in warm places such as heated rooms, the winter, they could not survive in the open. Therefore, it lives primarily in buildings with consistently high temperature, such as hospitals, industrial kitchens, greenhouses, bakeries and the like. She lives in the home.

Dissemination

The actual home of the Pharaoh ant is Asia, where it was introduced in the 19th century by transport and trade to Europe. Their original home is thought in the East Indies. Today it is a world popular culture follower.

Impact damage

The Pharaoh ant can crawl in hospitals under wound dressings of patients because it is attracted by blood and pus. Because of their small size and their preference for cracks and crevices they can also penetrate into medical devices such as needles, catheters, etc., and thereby contaminate. Since they can also transmit diseases, is the pharaoh ant is a serious problem in hospitals and therefore represent fights.

The ants can penetrate into your computer as they are attracted by the low temperatures and possibly existing sugary Schutzgele of power cables. There they can cause system crashes and electric fires.

The fight against Pharaoh ant is difficult due to the hidden location of the nests. The killing of the workers with immediate -acting insecticides has little effect, since the losses are quickly replaced by the queens in the nest. Therefore, the Pharaoh ant only be fought with food toxins, which also carried into the nest where they are fed to the queen and the brood.

Name

The name of the Pharaoh ant is based on the erroneous connection of appearance with the Egyptian plagues.