Citronella ant?

[Carma Sue Henry]

This is the second day we've had these tiny ants flying around.  Their swarming season has lasted about 1 - 1 1/2" weeks in past summers.  Luckily, these two landed in tandem.  The closest I could come for an ID is Citronella ants, Lasius interjectus, also called moisture ants... completely harmless.  Most sites say the females are 1/2" or larger, which these clearly are not.  I'd say less than 1/4" for the female and less than 1/8" for the male.

Carma Henry

Logsdon Ridge

[howard bruner]

Hi Carma

iNaturalist says it is hairless rover ant (Brachymyrmex depilis).

H

Hairless Rover Ant (Brachymyrmex depilis) · iNaturalist Brachymyrmex depilis is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. (Source: Wikipedia, 'Brachymyrmex depilis', https://wikipedia.org/wiki/brachymyrmex depilis, CC BY ... www.inaturalist.org

)

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From: mid-vall...@googlegroups.com <mid-vall...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Carma Sue Henry <csh...@bywordofmind.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 8:10 PM
To: Mid-Valley Nature <mid-vall...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [MidValleyNature:7893] Citronella ant?

 

This is the second day we've had these tiny ants flying around.  Their swarming season has lasted about 1 - 1 1/2" weeks in past summers.  Luckily, these two landed in tandem.  The closest I could come for an ID is Citronella ants, Lasius interjectus, also called moisture ants... completely harmless.  Most sites say the females are 1/2" or larger, which these clearly are not.  I'd say less than 1/4" for the female and less than 1/8" for the male.

Carma Henry

Logsdon Ridge

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[Carma Sue Henry]

Thanks Howard.  I appreciate getting the right ID, since my choice seemed off. 

I found a couple of other references including the following: 

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Brachymyrmex_depilis

Who knew the was an Ant specific wiki group? 

Apparently this is a queen ant and her mate.

Carma