# Microants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745 "2017-05-16T13:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/1 "2017-05-16T13:42:40Z")
“Infested” might be a strong term, but our house has a lot of an incredibly tiny insect living in it. No bigger than about 0.1-mm I’m calling them an ant because they scuttle about on a counter top rather like an ant and are attracted to sugar, especially sugar syrup like the dregs of a soda can, and have formed lines going back to . . . somewhere if left undisturbed at a find. The lines are not massive invasions like your small black ants would do but rather a cm or so between each critter. They are much to tiny for these old eyes to discern what form they might be so I can’t really tell if they’re ant-like in appearance or not. They don’t bite or sting but **DesertRoomie** is annoyed with them. Are they some kind of the countless ant species and will ant powder or bait stations diminish their presence? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/2 "2017-05-16T14:21:25Z")
> **[City invasion by tiny ants is major part of doctoral study](https://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/city-invasion-by-tiny-ants-is-major-part-of-doctoral/article_552fb0c3-80fc-55b3-976c-38bc989be45c.html)** > > Swarms of South American invaders have colonized our parks, apparently oblivious to immigration law. > **[Brachymyrmex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachymyrmex)** > > Brachymyrmex is a genus in the ants subfamily Formicinae. The genus can be recognized by the combination of having nine antennal segments (fewer than most ants) and the petiole concealed by the gaster in dorsal view. They are sometimes called "rover ants". > The genus has a mainly Neotropical distribution, ranging from the United States to Argentina and Chile, including the Caribbean islands, but some species have been introduced to Japan, and Madagascar. > Brachymyrmex is a genus of minute ants ... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/3 "2017-05-16T15:24:57Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > …will ant powder or bait stations diminish their presence? Get some [diatomaceous earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth#Pest_control) and sprinkle it anywhere they like to crawl around. The stuff is non-toxic to humans (there is even food grade versions of the stuff…just don’t breathe any in) but it messes up insects really well. Be sure to get uncalcinated, food grade diatomaceous earth to work as an insecticide. The downside is it is not instant like poisons are and usually take a few days to do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/4 "2017-05-16T16:13:19Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [City invasion by tiny ants is major part of doctoral study](http://tucson.com/news/local/education/college/city-invasion-by-tiny-ants-is-major-part-of-doctoral/article_552fb0c3-80fc-55b3-976c-38bc989be45c.html) > > [Brachymyrmex - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachymyrmex) I love how the official genus name literally means “small ant” or “short ant”: Brachy means “small” or “short”, as in [brachycephaly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachycephaly), and myrmex is “ant”, as in [Myrmidon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmidons), a legendary people of Greek mythology who were, according to legend, created by Zeus out of an ant mound. It sounds all scientific and complex and if you know some Greek, it’s literally the most obvious name possible. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/5 "2017-05-16T16:23:08Z")
AntWiki? [AntWiki](http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Brachymyrmex): > [@](#): > > Ortiz and Fernández (2014) - Brachymyrmex is a genus of minute ants that at first glance exhibit little morphological variation. Currently only the 9-segmented antennae and lack of antennal club have been proposed to diagnose workers of the genus (Bolton 2003). The combination of small size, soft metasoma, and the simple morphology makes observations and interpretation of morphological characters difficult. These difficulties impede taxonomic revisions and even led Creighton (1950) to call Brachymyrmex a “miserable little genus”. I wonder what the Greek for “miserable little genus” would be. The map on that page lists it as “present” in every Contiguous US state except Kentucky and Montana, where it’s shown as “likely present” and, well, ants are no respecters of borders, so I can only imagine it’s everywhere in the Lower 48. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/6 "2017-05-16T16:39:08Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Get some [diatomaceous earth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth#Pest_control) and sprinkle it anywhere they like to crawl around. The stuff is non-toxic to humans (there is even food grade versions of the stuff…just don’t breathe any in) but it messes up insects really well. Be sure to get uncalcinated, food grade diatomaceous earth to work as an insecticide. Seconding the ol’ D.E. It’s cheap, as low as $1-$5/lb depending on how much you buy. Spread it around wherever you see them, wait a day, vacuum it up, repeat once or twice. See if you can follow the line of ants to where they are entering the house and dump a pile of D.E. there. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microants/786745/7 "2017-05-17T14:02:35Z")
Your links were intriguing, **Astro** , especially being Tucson, but they are far too big and, if the photo is to be believed, far too numerous. And the one in your linked AntWiki **Darleth** (there’s a wiki for _everything_) is also way too large. The scale indicates the head is a touch over 0.2-mm across; mine, the whole ant is half that. Like I said, they’re so tiny I can’t tell is their morphology is ant-like. It’s actions I’m basing their genus on. The D.E. sounds like a good idea, **Mole**. Since it works by scuffing the victims’ cuticle until their inner moisture can escape, it’d probably work no matter what they are. And since we’re entering the period where the relative humidity (outside at least) gets into the single digits, well . . . Bwa-ha-ha!