Pharaoh Ants

Key Features of Pharaoh Ants

A small, tropical species of ant, the pharaoh ant is light yellow with a darker abdomen. It has a characteristic ‘double waist’. The workers are 2mm long, with the larger queen being 3-4mm long.

Biology

One of the interesting facts about the pharaoh ant is that each colony has many nests and also many queens. Each new queen lays around 300 – 350 eggs during her egg-laying spell and the eggs hatch in about a week.

Worker ants often remove the developing brood from an existing nest and form a new satellite nest elsewhere. Because of their tendency towards multiple nest sites, infestations can spread rapidly and be difficult to control.

The pharaoh ant is becoming increasing in common structures with central heating systems such as; hospitals and high rise blocks of flats, where it can be a serious public health pest.

A significant nuisance in food preparation areas, pharaoh ants attack sweet food stuffs such as jam, fruit and sugar.