The worker ants are brown to
black and one-eighth inch long. The petiole has only one segment with a
small node hidden by the abdomen. The best identifying mark is the
"rancid butter" smell of crushed ants. These are native ants that often
nest out-of-doors under stones or logs. They also nest indoors in walls
or floor voids, especially around heat sources. Theses odorous house
ants usually mate in May to mid July and seldom swarm. The females mate
in the colony, and produce new colonies by budding off the original
colony. Each nest will have several egg-laying females. These ants
prefer sweets but will feed on honeydew and almost any household food.
They may invade houses during rainy weather in search of food.
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