Search
Tapinoma sessile
Face view (low res, high res);
Lateral view (low res, high res).
These are the little black ants that come into your kitchen in early spring, wandering around on the countertops and looking for sugar. They are too small to be carpenter ants. Tapinoma sessile is an extremely generalized species that can be found in all the 48 contiguous United States. It loves to nest in open sunny areas under debris on the ground. Colonies can be large, with thousands of workers. They can be in almost any habitat, from sea-level to the high mountains, as long as there is some exposed ground that gets full sun. And for some reason they are common in and around houses. They don't do any damage and they can't really rob enough sugar from your kitchen to affect the family budget, so they are the kind of ants that are best observed closely for the educational value rather than exterminated.
Last updated Monday, August 07, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
