Bigheaded ant species range in length from 1/16 to 1/4 inch and in color from yellow and red to brown or black. To protect themselves, the stinger on the tip of the bigheaded ant’s antenna is clubbed. It is common for bigheaded ants to emit an unpleasant smell when they feel threatened.
Characteristics:
- The heads of major worker ants are larger than the rest of their bodies.
- Body between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch in length
- Have two distinct sizes of workers (dimorphic)
- Major workers (soldiers)
- Minor workers
- Have 12-segmented antennae with 3-segmented club
- Coloration: reddish-brown
- Feed on live and dead insects, seeds and honeydew
- Have 2 nodes in the pedicel (petiole and post petiole)
The caste system for workers is dimorphic (two different sizes). They have a length ranging from 2.4 to 3.8 millimeters. Compared to its body, the head of the major worker (largest) is disproportionately large and bi-lobed. Antennae have twelve segments and a distinct three-segment club at the end of each one. The epinotum of the thorax is adorned with two spines. During the summer, new colonies are formed through mating flights. As time goes on, the dominant queen eventually kills the other queens and forms a new colony.
