Science

If you know the Ant backbone, the How Do Ant Trails Form? The Language of Pheromones article completes this piece. The species you see here is not an ordinary house ant; it is an invasive line spreading along the Mediterranean coast that works differently in both behavior and genetics. Its name is Linepithema humile; in the field, most people know it as the Argentine ant. What is the Argentine ant? Linepithema humile is a small, dark brown species about 2.5 mm long. At first glance it doesn’t catch the eye. It has a single petiole, does not have large eyes and walks close to the ground. That’s why it hides easily under stones, in flowerpots, under pavements, at the base of walls and in pockets of loose soil. You won’t see the nest from above; you usually notice it when you lift a stone, open up the pot soil or see movement along the edge of a crack. ...

Ant nest structure is the colony order seen in the main Ant article translated into soil; if you want to complete the behavioral side, the article How Do Ant Trails Form? The Pheromone Language is a good companion. What you encounter under the soil is not random hollows but an architecture with a division of labor. The queen, larvae, food, waste and airflow each settle into a separate layer. This order also carries the colony’s heat, humidity and disease load. ...

The difference between the German and the American cockroach is not just a difference in size. These two species belong to the same order but do not use the same niche. The main cockroach guide covers general biology; this article makes the species distinction clear. If you also want to see how they get into the house, the article why do cockroaches come indoors? describes the entry points. The right decision in the field starts with seeing the right species. ...