Know Your Enemy
Accurate identification of pests is as important as choosing the best preventive pest management available on the market today. Preventive Pest Control has compiled a list of most common pests to help you identify the problem.
Myrmica spp
Characteristics
The Myrmica spp. is made up of hundreds of species that live in colonies with hundreds of queens and workers. However, the Myrmica spp. also have species that are considered social parasites, which live inside the colonies of other ant species. Males are 17/100 to 19/100 inch in length while females are 2/9 to 6/25 inch in length. Workers are usually reddish to brown, but there are some species that are light brownish yellow, chestnut brown, or even black in color. The most important sense organ of this genus is its antenna, which allows them to detect odors and their own ant species.
Habitat
Their colonies are found in almost all habitats. They can be found in meadows, woodlands, forests, mountain tundra, and so on. They may be seen constructing small temporary mounds that are 2 to 3 centimeters high. However, they may also vacate their nests and move to a new one 2 to 3 times per year. But, there are also some Myrmica species that never vacate their nests and may live in a specific place for years.
Behavior
Myrmica spp. is made of 200 species that is widespread around the world. Their genus is composed of inquilines species wherein they can invade the nest of their host. They have the ability to manipulate the host colony in making the queen create workers, and parasite broods as sexual. Although some species of the Myrmica cannot make their own colony, they are able to use their host and control it.
Just like any other ant genus, this genus lives within a highly structured social organization. Every individual has their own different tasks that play well in their survival and the growth of their population. Different ants are responsible for the brood and the queen, for collecting food, defending the colony, building and even relocating the nest, and recruiting congeners.
Food
The genus Myrmica can consume a variety of food that is available to them such as sweets and protein. They also like the honeydew from aphids, dead insects and the likes.
Life Cycle
Fertilized queens may lay 200 to 300 eggs every year. Depending on the species, these eggs can hatch around 3 weeks that will soon become adult ants and will be assigned specific roles. The survival of the colony does not fall mainly on the queen because their colony can consist of hundreds of queens. Workers may even determine which queens produce more eggs and which ones are not so that they can prioritize the queens that are laying more eggs. The strategy for their population, however, lies on the young queens who must over-winter before they can start producing brood or else they will not have sufficient workers to take care of them.
Other Information and Tips
The Myrmica spp. is known as an outdoor ant and can be found throughout the world. Since there are around 200 species of this genus, controlling them when they stay on the premises of a home may require dust or baits. However, if a home becomes severely infested, a professional pest control company is needed.
Photo by Sarefo (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
