Ant species

Acromyrmex octospinosus

A spiny, rough-skinned leafcutter that farms fungus on roses and bramble and cuts flowers and fruit as eagerly as leaves.

Nest

23–27 °C

Size

2–12 mm

Winter

None

Aphaenogaster senilis

A long-legged, restless hunter that spreads by splitting its colony instead of flying, and carries liquid food home on bits of debris.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

5–7 mm

Winter

12–16 °C

Aphaenogaster subterranea

A slender, secretive forest ant that nests under stones, hunts quietly in the leaf litter and carries sweet liquids home on soaked grains of soil.

Nest

20–26 °C

Size

3–5 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Atta cephalotes

Hairy-headed leafcutter ant

The classic leafcutter: shiny red-orange workers of every size carry cut leaf pieces home to feed a living fungus garden.

Nest

23–27 °C

Size

2–18 mm

Winter

None

Camponotus barbaricus

A shy, mostly nocturnal giant of the western Mediterranean that starts slowly, then grows into a huge colony once it has real warmth.

Nest

25–30 °C

Size

6–16 mm

Winter

12–18 °C

Camponotus cruentatus

Blood-spotted sugar ant

A matte-black Mediterranean giant with a rust-red band across its gaster, shy while small and fiercely territorial once the colony grows.

Nest

25–30 °C

Size

6–15 mm

Winter

10–15 °C

Camponotus fallax

A shy, slender tree dweller that freezes when startled, nests in dead branches and keeps its colony small.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

4–9 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Camponotus fedtschenkoi

Yellow carpenter ant

A pale golden carpenter ant from the dry steppes of Central Asia that digs its nest in the ground and comes out at night.

Nest

24–28 °C

Size

4–12 mm

Winter

15–18 °C

Camponotus herculeanus

Hercules ant

A cold-hardy black giant of northern conifer forests that carves its nest into old stumps and standing trees.

Nest

18–25 °C

Size

6–13 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Camponotus japonicus

Japanese carpenter ant

A sturdy, matte-black giant of East Asian fields and parks that builds up slowly, yet can follow the same queen for many years.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

6–14 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Camponotus lateralis

A small, shy carpenter ant with a red head and a black gaster that passes itself off as an acrobat ant and shadows its trails to find food.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

3–7 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Camponotus ligniperda

Brown-black carpenter ant

One of Europe's biggest ants, a glossy red-and-black giant that lives by its own slow seasonal clock.

Nest

20–25 °C

Size

6–14 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Camponotus maculatus

Spotted sugar ant

A fast-growing, big-headed carpenter ant from Africa with a yellowish thorax and a spotted gaster, and no need for a winter rest.

Nest

24–28 °C

Size

6–16 mm

Winter

None

Camponotus nicobarensis

Nicobar carpenter ant

An adaptable, fast-growing carpenter ant from Asia that forages mostly by night and does not need a winter rest.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

5–12 mm

Winter

None

Camponotus sylvaticus

A long-legged, red-and-black Mediterranean carpenter ant that sprints out of reach after dark and needs a few patient years to grow into a big colony.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

6–15 mm

Winter

8–14 °C

Camponotus vagus

Hairy carpenter ant

A fast, hairy, matte-black giant that sprints over sun-baked deadwood and bullies its neighbors at the food.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

6–13 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Carebara diversa

Asian marauder ant

A raiding marauder whose columns of tiny workers and giant-headed majors look like army ants, with the smallest workers riding on the biggest.

Nest

26–30 °C

Size

2–15 mm

Winter

None

Colobopsis truncata

European gate-keeper ant

A shy tree dweller whose soldiers, and the queen herself, seal the nest door with flat, plug-shaped heads.

Nest

21–28 °C

Size

3–6 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Crematogaster scutellaris

Acrobat ant

Raises its heart-shaped gaster when disturbed and loves nesting in wood.

Nest

21–25 °C

Size

3–5 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Dinomyrmex gigas

Giant forest ant

A night-active giant of the Southeast Asian rain forests, whose sprawling colonies settle border disputes with ritual tournaments between big-headed majors.

Nest

22–26 °C

Size

18–30 mm

Winter

None

Formica cinerea

Big, fast and nervous: a formic acid sprayer that can reach 10,000 workers.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

4–8 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Formica fusca

Silky ant

A shy, quick-footed black ant that forgives beginner mistakes and is the classic host of slave-making ants.

Nest

21–25 °C

Size

4–7 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Formica sanguinea

Blood-red ant

A bold red-and-black raider that steals the pupae of other Formica to raise as helpers, and a project for keepers who already know the basics.

Nest

21–26 °C

Size

6–9 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Harpegnathos venator

Giant jumping ant

A sharp-eyed, sickle-jawed hunter that freezes, wiggles its gaster and then leaps onto its live prey.

Nest

24–28 °C

Size

14–18 mm

Winter

None

Lasius emarginatus

A small, fast-growing Lasius with a reddish thorax that loves to dig tunnels.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

3–5 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Lasius flavus

Yellow meadow ant

A shy, golden-yellow soil dweller that herds root aphids and raises grassy mounds in old meadows.

Nest

20–25 °C

Size

2–5 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Lasius fuliginosus

Jet black ant

A glossy black, sweet-smelling carton builder that cannot start a colony without borrowing another ant's workers.

Nest

20–26 °C

Size

4–6 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Lasius niger

Black garden ant

Adaptable, undemanding and found in almost every garden: the classic first colony.

Nest

23–25 °C

Size

3–5 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Manica rubida

A big, rusty-red mountain hunter that heaps crater-like mounds around its nest entrances, stings like a wasp and punishes mistakes in the founding stage.

Nest

20–28 °C

Size

5–9 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Messor barbarus

Harvester ant

A calm, clumsy seed harvester with huge-headed majors, and my top pick for beginners.

Nest

21–26 °C

Size

3–14 mm

Winter

12–16 °C

Messor capitatus

European seed harvesting ant

A glossy black seed harvester with big-headed majors that grind tough seeds into ant bread on dry, rocky ground.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

4–13 mm

Winter

10–15 °C

Messor ebeninus

Ebony harvester ant

A glossy ebony-black harvester ant of the Middle East that stores its seeds upstairs and raises its brood in damp soil far below.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

4–10 mm

Winter

15–18 °C

Messor structor

A rough-skinned brown harvester ant that shares its nest with many queens and spreads by splitting off new colonies.

Nest

22–28 °C

Size

4–10 mm

Winter

8–12 °C

Messor wasmanni

Wasmann's harvester ant

A big-headed seed harvester of sunny Italian and Balkan grasslands, with tidy trails to its nest and a name still written with a cautious cf.

Nest

22–26 °C

Size

4–10 mm

Winter

12–15 °C

Myrmecocystus mexicanus

Mexican honeypot ant

A nocturnal desert ant whose swollen workers hang from the ceiling like golden jars to store the colony's sugar.

Nest

26–30 °C

Size

4–9 mm

Winter

None

Myrmica rubra

European fire ant

A feisty red ant of damp meadows that lives in sprawling multi-queen colonies and defends its nest with a nettle-like sting.

Nest

18–25 °C

Size

4–6 mm

Winter

5–8 °C

Novomessor cockerelli

Desert harvester ant

A leggy desert scavenger whose workers team up to haul prey far too big for a single ant.

Nest

27–32 °C

Size

7–10 mm

Winter

None

Oecophylla smaragdina

Asian weaver ant

Long-legged tree ants that stitch living leaves into nests with silk from their own larvae, and an expert-level challenge to keep.

Nest

24–30 °C

Size

5–10 mm

Winter

None

Pheidole pallidula

Big-headed ant

Tiny minors, big-headed majors and a real talent for escaping.

Nest

21–28 °C

Size

2–6 mm

Winter

12–16 °C

Plagiolepis pygmaea

A pinhead-sized, sun-loving ant that lives in networks of many-queened nests and slips through the smallest gap.

Nest

21–28 °C

Size

1.3–2 mm

Winter

10–15 °C

Pogonomyrmex rugosus

Rough harvester ant

A heavy desert seed harvester with deep granaries, a bare disk around its nest and a painful sting.

Nest

26–30 °C

Size

7–9 mm

Winter

13–16 °C

Polyrhachis dives

Asian spiny weaver ant

A spiny, fast-moving climber that weaves its nests with silk from its own larvae and lives in colonies with many queens.

Nest

25–30 °C

Size

5–8 mm

Winter

None

Solenopsis fugax

Thief ant

A tiny underground thief that tunnels into the nests of bigger ants to steal their brood, and slips through almost any gap.

Nest

21–28 °C

Size

1.5–2.5 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Temnothorax unifasciatus

A tiny, peaceful ant with a dark band across its gaster, small enough that a whole colony can live inside an acorn.

Nest

20–26 °C

Size

2.5–3.5 mm

Winter

5–10 °C

Tetramorium caespitum

Pavement ant

Tiny, tough and fast-growing, as long as your nest is escape-proof.

Nest

21–27 °C

Size

2–4 mm

Winter

5–8 °C