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These creatures depend on odorous house ants to protect them
from ladybugs, tiny wasps, and lacewings, all aphid and scale
predators. When odorous house ants show up, those predators
split, enabling aphid and scale populations to soar. To pay for
their security detail, aphids and scale insects give odorous house
ants a sweet syrup.
In the woods, odorous house ants compete with different species
for places to set up camp. With acorn ants stuffing their homes
into acorns, citrus ants pouring out from under tree bark, and
acrobat ants peeking down from tree branches, odorous house
ants make do wherever they can. But in the city, they can nest
anywhere. Vacancies abound. From our garbage cans packed
with odorous house ant-ready foods to the luxurious mulch we
pile up around our homes to our kitchen floors, odorous house
ants feast, make babies, and have shindigs around us all the time.
City odorous house ants can have many nests per colony with
tiny superhighways of workers moving between them, distributing
supplies from nest to nest. Some odorous house ant colonies can
span a city block.
Urban Life
Where it lives: Odorous house ants nest
indoors (under sinks and doormats and in
insulation and dishwashers) and outdoors
(under rocks and in garbage cans, potted
plants and exposed soil).
What it eats: Honeydew, a sugary liquid made
by the small insects aphids and scales, and
other sugary food left out by humans. Odorous
house ants also eat dead insects and spiders.
NYC notes: Everywhere in North America, this
ant can be found in really urban habitats and
homes and is more rare in forests and open
grasslands. Not in New York. In New York,
Tapinoma sessile is common in forests but rare
in the most urban parts of the city. Do you
know why? We don’t have a clue.
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