Little Yellow Ant
Plagiolepis alluaudi
Known from and potential habitat
Species Info General
Other common names include: Sugar Ant
Little Yellow Ants are . . . yellow, and little. Tiny, in fact. With the advent of Little Fire Ants in Hawaiʻi in 1999, people are more inclined to take notice of Little Yellow Ants as they are quite similar to LFA to the naked eye — an “LFA lookalike”. This species, however, does not sting and is not reported to bite people. It is wily and pestiferous in the kitchen, however, and has been known to make its way inside seemingly tightly sealed food containers.
Though they have an incredible fondness for sweets, they’ll sometimes take a liking to the leftover food in the cat’s dish. In the yard and garden they usually maintain a low profile, but at times will explode in population, infesting (for example) the inner sheaths of banana leaves in incredibly high numbers.
Identification/Description
This is Hawaiʻi’s tiniest ant. It is a bright or sometimes translucent yellow, and can often be found in lines moving somewhat sluggishly up and down tree trunks.
Impacts
- “Although an accomplished tramp species, Plagiolepis alluaudi is not known to cause significant harm to ecological or agricultural systems.” (Sarnat & Economo 2012)
- Annoying indoor pest at at times
- Occasionally appears in gardens in disconcertingly high numbers
History
- Little Yellow Ants started showing up on Oʻahu in the first decade of the 20th Century, and by 1913 the species was already considered locally abundant in some places (Ehrhorn, Perkins & Swezey 1913). In 1931 it was called “quite a household pest” in Honolulu (Williams et al. 1931). It was first recorded on Molokaʻi in 1928 (Swezey & Bryan 1929), Maui in 1937 (ref: UH Insect Museum specimens) and Lānaʻi in 1967 (Huddleston & Fluker [1968] who described it as “Very abundant, widespread, and nesting in many varied habitats”). It has not been recorded on Kahoʻolawe.
Resources/References
- Plagiolepis alluaudi – AntWiki
- Ehrhorn, E. M., Perkins, R. C. L. & Swezey, O. H. 1913. [Entomological Program]. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 2(5): 207–208.
- Huddleston, E. W. & Fluker, S. S. 1968. Distribution of Ant Species of Hawaii. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 20(1): 45–69.
- Sarnat, E. & Economo, E. P. 2012. The Ants of Fiji. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, California. 384 pp.
- Swezey, O. H. & Bryan, E. H. Jr. 1929. Further Notes on the Forest Insects of Molokai. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 7(2): 293–314.
- Williams, F. X., Muir, F., Van Zwaluwenburg, R. H. & Swezey, O.H. 1931. Handbook of The Insects and Other Invertebrates of Hawaiian Sugar Cane Fields. Advertiser Publishing Co., Honolulu. 400 pp.
