Ants that look like spiders that look like ants?
July 20, 2018 11:44 AM   Subscribe

Is this a carpenter ant?

Inspector and pest inspector said that we have carpenter ants at this one corner of the house. I had a tree guy over today, who also does pest, and he says they're spiders and not carpenter ants. I've stared at many photos online and really still can't tell. Any professional pest ppl here who can confirm what these are?

Image 1
Image 2
Image 3(this one's got a thing in its mouth)
posted by monologish to Home & Garden (12 answers total)
 
6 legs = insect
8 legs = arachnid (spiders and relatives).

Those are clearly ants (6 legs, ant-shaped and whatnot), but I can't confirm the type of ant.

The jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria (previously on the blue) is a spider that looks like an ant, but at least images 1 and 2 are clearly ants.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:50 AM on July 20, 2018 [5 favorites]


What region are you in?

Can you provide an object for size?

No, those are not spiders. They are not carpenter ants imho. If you tell me your region I think I can tell you what they are.
posted by jbenben at 11:51 AM on July 20, 2018


Response by poster: Im am in central Texas. Sorry no object comparison in the photo, but i guess it's as large as carpenter ants since all the previous inspectors said they were that. I would guess about 1/3 to 1/2 inch in length.
posted by monologish at 11:54 AM on July 20, 2018


They are ants, they look WAY smaller and skinnier than carpenter ants. They have a red petiole between the thorax and the abdomen... I'll be back in a moment with an identification...
posted by jbenben at 11:56 AM on July 20, 2018


Sure looks like an ant or closely related insect. (Distrust anyone who says it's a spider.) They're longer and thinner than the carpenter ants I've met.

Crush one and smell it. If there's an incredibly strong odor that reminds you of a mix between pine sap and turpentine, it's probably a carpenter ant.
posted by eotvos at 11:59 AM on July 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


I'm not big on ant taxonomy, so I can't help you there, but if your tree guy thinks those are spiders, you might want to find another tree guy.

FWIW, image 3 looks like an ant with a dead ant in its mouth.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:01 PM on July 20, 2018 [5 favorites]


Texas carpenter ants linky

I'd guess they are some species of carpenter ant
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:39 PM on July 20, 2018


Best answer: They're ants, but not carpenter ants. Looks like elongate twig ants, which is quite plausible in Texas. Probably not the friendliest ant to have in or on your house because they can sting, but they're not going to destroy your wood.
posted by drlith at 12:40 PM on July 20, 2018 [3 favorites]


They are Pseudomyrmex ants.

On preview, see above.
posted by dhruva at 1:13 PM on July 20, 2018 [1 favorite]


Yep, I see these ants in my current yard full of pecans in central Austin TX. I have handled them many times and not been stung. Perhaps it’s painful if they do sting, but in my experience they are non-aggressive, for ants at least.
posted by SaltySalticid at 1:40 PM on July 20, 2018


Btw pretty sure the last ant is moving a dead ant (of a different caste, if not species), which is a thing most ants do. It helps keep the colony safe and clean.
posted by SaltySalticid at 2:41 PM on July 20, 2018


Some ant-mimic spiders are extremely good (I almost squozed this little guy until I noticed the antennae were alternately being waved around and walked upon). But there's one thing that ants have that spiders don't: a very obviously middle segment: insects are head-thorax-abdomen, while spiders do head(sorta-thing)-abdomen.
posted by scruss at 1:28 PM on July 21, 2018


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