Monomorium pharaonis
- Insect with chitinous carapace
- Crawling
- Health and hygiene pest
- Annoying pest
Pharaoh ants are pests in homes, hotels, food processing as well as medical facilities and animal farms. They cause great damage or transmit germs and diseases through food damage and contamination.
Transmission of diseases
- Pharaoh ants can crawl under patients' wound dressings in hospitals because they are attracted to blood and pus. Because of their small size and preference for cracks and crevices, they can also enter and contaminate medical equipment such as cannulas, catheters, etc. Since they can also spread diseases, Pharaoh ants cause serious problems in hospitals.
- As they prefer protein-rich substances, they play an important role in the spread of bacteria in hospitals, especially in intensive care units, maternity wards, operating rooms and infectious disease departments. They are considered one of several possible causes of so-called nosocomial infections. When the ants start chewing on the edges of wounds under plasters or other dressings, this causes itching that becomes very uncomfortable for patients. At the same time, germs and diseases can also be transmitted in this way.
More data
Class: Insects
Size: 2 to 5mm
Weight: 1 gram
Age: 4 to 12 months
Appearance: Amber-yellow (workers) to black (males) coloured
Food: Omnivorous, sugar and protein containing food
Distribution: Worldwide (cultural successor)
Original location: Asia
Sleep-wake rhythm: Diurnal
Habitat: Hospitals, large kitchens, greenhouses, bakeries, private households
Natural enemies: None
Sexual maturity: 3 months
Social behaviour: State-forming insects
Threatened with extinction: No
- The Pharaoh ant is one of the smallest ants among its species, belonging to the subfamily of the knot ants (Myrmicinae). It originally lived in Asia and was introduced to Europe in the 19th century. The insect lives mainly in buildings with constantly high temperatures and is mainly a disease vector.
- The worker ants are 2mm long and have an amber-yellow colour with dark abdominal tips. There are two visible humps behind the chest. The male is slightly larger and black in colour. The queen ant can grow up to 4.5mm and is slightly darker than the workers.
- The pharaoh ant lays its nest in a hidden place in the masonry. The warmest place in the house is the first choice. A nest always contains several queens. The undisturbed population can consist of more than 300'000 individual animals. If the colony becomes too large, daughter colonies develop, which are initially connected to the mother colony but can later become independent.
- Pharaoh ants are omnivores, they like sugar and protein-rich substances, but also eat a variety of foodstuffs. Unlike ants native to Central Europe, Pharaoh ants are active all year round.
- In colder regions, pharaoh ants can only survive in warm places and therefore cannot spend the winter outdoors. Therefore,they mainly lives in buildings with a constant high temperature, such as hospitals, large kitchens, greenhouses, bakeries, etc. However, they also lives in private houses.
- Attracted by the favourable temperatures, they also like to invade computers. There they can cause system failures and electrical fires.
In which area does the pest occur?
The area of application determines which products are recommended to control this pest.
Oben
