Acrobat Ant

Acrobat Ants – Crematogaster spp.  Workers are one-eighth of an inch long and all one size in the colony.  They are reddish brown in color and can raise the heart-shaped abdomen up and over the thorax when disturbed.  One set of spines are on the top of the thorax.  They do possess a stinger but seldom use it.  Indoor nests can be found in areas where water damage has occurred, in decayed or damp wood or inside insulated wall panels.  Outdoors they can be found under rocks, logs, firewood or hollows of trees.  They use utility lines, shrubs, branches, pipes and anything that touches the structure to gain entry inside.  They eat a wide variety of foods including sweets and proteins.  (Photo Credit: David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org)