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Pharaoh Ant – Monomorioum pharaonis

Identifying characteristics

	Workers are all the same size, 1/16-inch long
	Yellow or honey-colored to orange
	Petiole with two nodes
	Thorax uneven in shape when viewed from side with no spines
	12-segmented antennae with 3-segmented club
	Eyes are well developed
	There is no stinger

Life Cycle and Habits

	Female Pharaoh ants can lay 400 or more eggs in her lifetime.
	Most lay 10-12 eggs / batch
	At 80 F and 80% relative humidity, eggs hatch in 5-7 days.
	Larval period is 18-19 days, prepupal period 3 days & pupal period 9 days.
	The entire cycle takes 38-45 days depending on the temperature and humidity.
	Mature colonies contain several queens, winged males, sterile females, eggs, larvae, prepupae and pupae accounting to about 300,000 or more members.

Behavior

	Feed on both living and dead insects
	Inside, feed on sweets, fats, and proteins
	Travel in set trails along carpets, countertops, cabinets, floors, and baseboards
	Found in places with moisture
	May use electrical wires and plumbing pipes to travel from room to room
	Colonies very mobile; workers, along with larvae, pupae, and even a few queens, may move to new locations if disturbed or if colony becomes too large

Nest type and size

•  Nest in household structures such as wall and cabinet voids, behind baseboards, behind refrigerator insulation, inside hollow curtain rods, or in the folds of sheets, clothes, or paper, light fixtures
•  Outdoors nest in debris or cracks and crevices
•  Colonies with up to 300,000 workers with multiple queens

Pharaoh ants become a serious nuisance pest in hospitals, rest homes, apartment dwellings, hotels, grocery stores, food establishments and other buildings. They feed on a wide variety of foods including jellies, honey, shortening, peanut butter, corn syrup, fruit juices, baked goods, soft drinks, greases, dead insects and even shoe polish. Also, these ants gnaw holes in silk, rayon and rubber goods. In hospitals, foraging ants have been found in surgical wounds, I.V. glucose solutions, sealed packs of sterile dressing, soft drinks, water in flower displays and water pitchers. These ants are capable of mechanically transmitting diseases and contaminating sterile materials. Some feel Staphylococcus and Psuedomonas infections, occurring from time to time in hospitals, are associated with these ants.

Unlike many other ants, pharaoh ants do not have mating flights to initiate new colonies. Neither females nor males can sustain flight. New colonies begin by budding where groups of workers carry brood stages to new locations. One or more queens may come along, although workers can raise new males and new queens from the brood. Colonies have multiple queens. Budding usually occurs when colonies become too large or are under stress by changes in temperature or availability of water or food. Budding may also be triggered by insecticide sprays applied to trailing workers. Colonies are very mobile and can spread quickly. Ants can spread quickly by being transferred on items such as laundry, groceries, or paper products.

Control Measures

Pharaoh ants are usually much harder to control than other ants because of their ability to disperse. There may be dozens or hundreds of colonies in a single hospital and when a few colonies are missed during control, populations will quickly rebound. About 90 percent of the colony remains hidden in the nest so even if 10 percent of the colony is killed by a residual pesticide, the remaining reservoir of ants is enormous. Conventional contact pesticide applications especially repellent products such as pyrethrins may spread infestations to new areas with multiple colonies blossoming within the structure. These ants will avoid certain pesticides. Control is difficult and often long term (months to years), depending on the building size, wall voids, etc., especially in hospitals and food plants. Complete cooperation from the property manager and residents is essential for a successful control program.

Source: Ohio State University & University of California – IPM Online