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The Ant Word

WHAT’S NEW ... some new observations on Anoplolepis custodiens [23 Feb 2015]

We’ve put this website together to help anyone interested in the natural systems of South Africa to identify these tiny but fascinating animals. There’s more about recognizing ants in the pages below, with some fairly basic stuff about these insects and their biology. Our ants are as much a part of our fantastic wildlife heritage as lions and rhinos, fish eagles and blue cranes, mighty yellowwoods and king proteas. The ecological role they play is immensely important for the health of our natural systems. Ants are essential seed-distributors to thousands of charismatically-beautiful fynbos plants; they are pollinators and recyclers, too, and also vectors in the spread of many plant predators. However, just as there are plant invaders that threaten our natural systems there are insect invaders, too, and we’re specifically interested in some pretty murderous invasive ants. The problem is, no one involved in ecological study or conservation in South Africa really knows where these invaders are, or how widespread they are. The Iziko Museums list of South African ants, for example, only places the serious pest, the Argentine ant [see below], in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng; yet they are all over the Northern Cape towns of Nieuwoudtville and Calvinia. What’s more, both these towns enjoy temperature extremes in winter and summer. Popular wisdom has it that Argentine ants do not survive such extremes – yet there they are! Hence the idea of atlassing the various invasive and indigenous species, and encouraging professional and amateur naturalists, hikers, campers, climbers and outdoor people everywhere to join the Ant Atlassing project.
The project is still under development, as is this site, and if you have any info, queries or comments please use the Comments box below. We are still working on the illustrations of the various ants and finding better ways of presenting them, so you might find something new every time you revisit this site.
The Argentine ant – Linepithema humile – is one of the most devastating invasive organisms on Earth. It may pose a very serious threat to the health of our fynbos and other ecosystems ... but do we know where they all are?

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About Ants; and Collecting ants for Identification

Ants are essentially a family of insects descended from wasps, and sharing many characteristics with them. However, they have many ‘stand alone’ features that all ants, and only ants, share. 
All ants could be described as Liverpool football supporters – they Never Walk Alone. Whereas there are several solitary bees and wasps, their fellow-members of the insect order Hymenoptera, all ants are social and, if you find one, there are others from the same nest somewhere nearby.
All the worker ants you’ll ever see are females. Male ants have short, idyllic lives, where they are born, hang around the nest being pampered and fed, and then flying out to find young females (‘alates’) to mate with. And having mated, they die.
Their sisters are the workers, and they usually have a queen or several queens who do all the reproductive work, although there are species of ants where there are no queens and a worker or workers take on the reproductive role.


The eggs are small and white or sometimes pinkish. They hatch into blind, legless larvae that are completely helpless, and unless constantly fed and groomed by their sisters they die. As with most insects the larvae are a stage in the animals’ metamorphosis, and in due course they pupate. In some sub-families the pupae are naked; in others the larvae spin cocoons and pupate inside them. Finally, when metamorphosis is complete the adult ants emerge from the pupal state or, in the case of those in cocoons, their adult sisters have to tear open the cocoons to let them out. 
The queens are normally larger than the workers, with a distinctly larger thorax which holds the wing-muscles for their flying stage. The queens of the Red Driver ant, however, look quite different and are illustrated on that page.

Ants reproduce their colonies in two main ways:
1. By nuptial flights. The winged female and male reproductives fly out of the parent nests and, on meeting one of the opposite sex from a different colony, they mate. The male dies; the female (now a queen ant) drops her wings and finds a sheltered place for the new colony. She lays a few eggs and when these hatch she raises them to become the first workers of the new colony. She does not eat during this time, living off her fatty reserves supplied from her now-redundant wing muscles. Nests established in this way are highly nationalistic and usually hostile to all other ants, including their own species.
The whole nuptial flight process is extremely dicey and the chances of failure are extremely high.
2. By budding. There is more than one reproductive queen in the nest. When a good food source is discovered, some of the extra queens migrate out with the workers and start a new branch of the colony at the food supply. The colony remains interlinked and its members are accepted by all branches. The colonies can grow into enormous super-colonies spread out over many miles, and with countless trillions of individuals.

Ant Anatomy

Every scientific discipline loves its jargon, and entomology is no different. We’ve tried to keep the language simple in this website but there are a few terms you need to know. Ants’ bodies are substantively different from mammals and they have body parts that don’t have convenient common names. The drawing should make most of this clear. There are other parts with names but these are the most important.






Collecting ants for identification



We used to advise users to sign up to the South African version of iSpot, but we suggest that you wait until iSpot upgrades, which will apparently be soon, to avoid the very frustrating bugs in the present version. We’ll post the news of the revision as soon as it comes online.

Although we have tried to convey the colour, shape and something of their habits in our illustrations of the various ant species below, if you’re serious about learning how to identify them there is no substitute for collection and examination. Ants are usually very, very small animals, however, and in order to examine them you’re going to need a good hand lens or, even better, a mini-microscope to be able to see their full range if identifying features.

Hand-held mini-microscopes of 40x or 60x magnification are available from Slingsby Maps, see URL below. Both microscopes have powerful LED lights and use pill-batteries. The 40x is usually adequate but the 60x also has a UV light, often useful too.
The microscopes can be bought online from http://www.slingsbymaps.com/minimicroscopes.aspx

There are two other essential items you will need. One is the smallest, softest-haired paint brush you can find. A water-colour brush with white hairs is best. The other is a supply of small Ziploc® bags. When you go out collecting you might want to unzip your bags before you start, as you often have to move fast to catch your ant and the bags sometimes resist opening at the wrong moment. 


Use the soft brush, not your fingers, to flick the ant(s) into the bag, and quickly zip it up (ants are small, fragile creatures and your enormous fingers – compared to an ant – will surely damage them).
Bothroponera pumicosa in the bag! Once trapped in the plastic you can study the animal at your leisure with your mini-microscope
When the ants are in the bag it’s easy to study them with the mini-microscope, often most conveniently by holding the bag against a white notebook page and holding it up to your eye. The sides of the bag pin the ant down without squashing it. If your ants are hot they will move very fast; it’s often best to take them home and put the bags into the fridge for an hour or so. This won’t kill them but it will slow them down. You can use the sections below to try to identify your ants, or you can try the iSpot key to Western Cape Ants. Finally, if all else fails the ants in the bag can also be easily posted away for identification, and you are welcome to send them to P Slingsby at P.O.Box 303, Muizenberg 7945. I’m always looking for ants to draw and yours will be most welcome, even if ‘dead on arrival’.

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Ant Atlassing

There’ll be a lot more info on this page when the project is fully launched. In the meantime you can do your bit by gathering data on the distribution of species wherever you go – see ‘Collecting ants for identification’ in the next page of this site. Seriously, just a few observations from your latest hike, camp, picnic or what’s in your garden will help enormously towards mapping the distribution of ants ...

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Identify ants: Key with links

1. For a detailed Baynesian Key go here, or 
2. Scroll down through the illustrations below. These have been arranged more or less in order of size, from smallest to largest. Click on the species name for more info about that species, or on the Sub-Family name for more info about the sub-family.
3. All ants are classified into sub-families; within each of these the various genera and species share certain common characteristics. You can find out more about each sub-family by clicking on these links:
Ponerinae (the ‘Primitive’ or Ringbum ants)
Pseudomyrmecinae (the Slender ants)
Dorylinae (the Army or Driver ants)
Dolichoderinae (the Smelly ants)
Myrmicinae (the Double-waisted ants)
Formicinae (the Elegant, Acid-Squirting, Pugnacious or Sugar ants)

KEY: 1. Ants up to about 5 mm long


Tiny 1.5 mm ants, yellowish, slow-moving, under stones and leaf-litter: Monomorium  [Tiny yellow timid ant], Myrmicinae


Tiny 1.5 mm ants, black, quick moving, nest under stones: Lepisiota sp. [Tiny black sugar ant], Formicinae


About 2 mm, black with pale legs, in house [kitchen or bathroom], nocturnal, nest in appliances, foul-smelling when crushed: Technomyrmex albipes [White-footed ant], Dolichoderinae : INVADER
About 2+ mm, pale yellow [almost transparent]; ground dwelling in thick soils; nocturnal; secretive and rarely seen; body shape and movement resembles Lepisiota but never present in large numbers: Acropyga arnoldi [Yellow forest sugar ant], Formicinae
About 2+ mm, pale yellow to reddish [almost transparent] with darker anterior part of gaster; large colonies in the ground, under floors etc. with many 5mm queens;
Monomorium pharaonis [Pharaoh ant]; INVADER; Myrmicinae




About 2.75 mm, shiny black with paler legs, gaster as long as the rest of the body:  Lepisiota sp. [Long-belly black sugar ant], Formicinae




About 2.25 to 2.75 mm, shiny black with paler legs, runs in trails, has become invasive in some areas: Lepisiota capensis [Small black sugarant], Formicinae : INDIGENOUS INVADER
About 2.5 mm, overall brown with slightly darker gaster; double-jointed petiole, resembling Pheidole but without large-headed major workers; small colonies under stones or in leaf litter;
Monomorium australe [Southern timid ant]; Myrmicinae



About 2.5 mm, overall brown, runs in trails with queens often present, a massive invader of homes, gardens, etc.; smells of Parmesan cheese when crushed: Linepithema humile [Argentine ant]; Dolichoderinae : INVADER

About 3 mm, overall brown with paler legs and antennae; prominent 'lump' or protuberance on the anterior end of the thorax. Reputed to be a wood-dwelling ant, our specimen was nesting in clay soil. May be restricted to Grootvadersbosch and hence very rare: Axinidris lignicola [Grandfather's wood ant]; Dolichoderinae :  should be RED DATA LISTED



Minor workers 2+ mm; narrow waist; runs in trails; has huge-headed major workers up to 4mm; brown to dark brown: Pheidole capensis [Brown house ant], Myrmicinae

Minor worker 2.5 mm; narrow waist; runs in trails; has huge-headed major workers up to 5mm; brown to dark brown, may invade houses: Pheidole megacephala [Big-headed house ant], Myrmicinae : INDIGENOUS INVADER
Ants 3+ mm; all black or with dark red heads and thorax; small nests in sand, often with detritus 'cone' around entrance; gardens and veld: Tetramorium quadrispinosum [Black garden ant], Myrmicinae
Ants <4 mm; shiny dark brown with no spines on thorax; slow moving and often seen alone: Monomorium excelsior [Large timid ant], Myrmicinae

Ants <2 mm [minors] to <4 mm; dull ochre-yellow with reddish or brownish tint; majors  sometimes have darker heads; rapidly moving and aggressive with powerful stings; nest in rotting wood or leaf litter in large colonies: Solenopsis puntaticeps [Cape fire ant], Myrmicinae



Ants 4 mm; all black; small nests in sand, often with detritus 'cone' around entrance; ants curl up and feign dead when touched: Tetramorium signatum [Feigning garden ant], Myrmicinae
Ants 4 mm; jet black; run in trails; build carton nests in bushes; cock gasters over their heads and swarm and bite aggressively when disturbed: Crematogaster peringueyi [Black cocktail ant], Myrmicinae

Ants 4 mm; red-brown with brown to black gasters; run in trails; build carton nests in bushes; cock gasters over their heads and swarm and bite aggressively when disturbed: Crematogaster castanea [Red cocktail ant], Myrmicinae





Ants 4 mm; red-brown head and thorax with black gaster; run in trails; build carton nests in bushes; cock gasters over their heads and swarm and bite aggressively when disturbed: Crematogaster melanogaster [Brown cocktail ant], Myrmicinae
Ants between 4 and 5 mm; jet black with elongated, slender bodies; nest in hollow stalks in fynbos: Tetraponera clypeata [Black slender ant], Pseudomyrmecinae
Ants 5 mm; yellow-orange with elongated, slender bodies; nest in hollow stalks in forested environments: Tetraponera emeryi [Yellow slender ant], Pseudomyrmecinae
Ants <3 mm [minors] to 5 mm; red-yellow with reddish or brownish tint; majors  sometimes have darker heads; rapidly moving and aggressive with powerful stings; nest in rotting wood or leaf litter in large colonies: Solenopsis geminata [Tropical fire ant], Myrmicinae : INVADER




Ants in multiple sizes from 3 mm to 5 mm; extremely active and aggressive; attack on touch; red-brown to dark-brown, almost black; large nests in ground; swarm towards you if you thump the ground: Anoplolepis steingroeveri [Small pugnacious ant], Formicinae


KEY: 2. Ants that are 5 mm long or larger

There are several Camponotus species that are not yet illustrated here but are described on the Camponotus pages [see links below]: Camponotus baynei, C. emarginatus, C. rufoglaucus, C. vestitus


All ants same size, >5 mm; shiny jet black with reddish tipped gaster and paler leg joints; very slender, fast-moving and aggressive and equipped with stings: Leptogenys intermedia [Common razor-jaw ant], Ponerinae









Minor workers about 4.5 mm, majors with broader heads about 6–7 mm, jet black all over; small colonies nesting in the ground, in wood or hollow stems; diurnal and common especially in fynbos: Camponotus werthi [Black sugar ant], Formicinae
Minor workers about 5 mm, majors with broader heads about 7 mm, black or dark grey with stiff white bristles on gaster; small colonies nesting in the ground; diurnal and common especially in fynbos: Camponotus niveosetosus [Hairy sugar ant], Formicinae
Minor workers about 5 mm, majors with broader heads about 7+ mm, shiny chocolate brown with paler legs; small colonies nesting in wood, nocturnal and seldom seen: Camponotus bertolonii [Brown sugar ant], Formicinae


Ants about 6 mm, jet black with distinctive, downward-hanging gasters; slow moving; nests may have a mound of detritus around entrance: Myrmicaria nigra [Drop-tail ant] Myrmicinae

Ants about 7 mm, reddish brown to black; long-legged and run around in hot weather at extremely high speeds; have a 'basket' of bristles under their heads which they use to move stones excavated from their nests: Ocymyrmex barbiger [Hotrod ant], Myrmicinae
Long legged yellow ants about 7mm that run around randomly at high speed and in large numbers; may be encountered in or near harbours; fiercely destructive of all small animals they may encounter: Anoplolepis gracilipes [Yellow crazy ant]; Formicinae : INVADER




Ants in multiple sizes from 5 mm to 7+ mm; red-brown to dark-brown with silvery refractive hairs forming a chequered pattern on their gasters; extremely active and aggressive; attack on touch; large nests in ground; swarm towards you if you thump the ground: Anoplolepis custodiens [Large pugnacious ant], Formicinae

Ants in multiple sizes from about 5 mm to 8 mm; shiny jet-black or dark brown; form slow-moving trails carrying vegetable detritus to their nests; trails freeze if you thump the ground near them; a mound of detritus may form around the nest entrance: Messor capensis [Cape harvester ant], Myrmicinae

Ants in multiple sizes from 2 mm to 8 mm; red to range-red and all blind [no eyes]; form dense nomadic columns that swarm through gardens and fields by night or in dull weather; fiercely aggressive and attack on contact: Dorylus helvolus [Red driver ant], Dorylinae


Large dark grey ants with pitted skin and golden hairs, about 12 mm long; slow moving, usually seen singly, live in small colonies of a few dozen individuals; prominent sting: Bothroponera pumicosa [Rugged ringbum ant], Ponerinae
Dark red to red-brown ants with black gasters covered by dense, yellow hairs; minor workers about 12 mm, majors large up to 20 mm, few intermediates; ants ‘see’ you if you wave a hand above them; widespread in arid areas; forage by day; quick moving: Camponotus fulvopilosus [Balbyter sugar ant], Formicinae

Dark red to red-brown ants with black gasters covered by dense, creamy hairs; minor workers about 12 mm, majors large up to 20 mm, a few intermediates; ants ‘see’ you if you wave a hand above them; widespread in arid areas; forage by day; quick moving: Camponotus storeatus [White balbyter sugar ant], Formicinae


Large ants in a variety of colours from pale yellow to dark brown, usually with spots of  a contrasting colour on the gaster; ants are large, minor workers up to 10-11 mm, majors up to 20 mm, few intermediates; nocturnal ants, nest under stones and in the ground and usually only seen by chance: Camponotus maculatus [Spotted sugar ants], Formicinae

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Fynbos plants that rely upon ants

A selection of the huge range of fynbos plant species that rely upon ants for effective distribution of their seeds ... we’ll add to these from time to time.

1. Plants that rely on ants to distribute their seeds:
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