7 replies to this topic

[Works4TheGood]

As some of you already know, I just started ant-keeping this summer and I have a few Solenopsis molesta colonies developing. I've read that this species has well-developed stingers. Does anyone have any experience here? What are stings like from this miniatur ant species? Are "well-developed" stingers more effective/painful than "less-developed" stingers? Are their stings even noticeable? Is it exclusively a defensive mechanism for this species, or do they use it to subdue prey as well?

I think I'm still traumatized from being stung by a wasp last year. Five minutes after the sting, it looked as though someone hit me on the back of the head with a board.

I've never actually been stung by an ant before, but that's probably to be expected because us Pennsylvanians have really REALLY wimpy ants - like our beloved S. molesta, which has nanitic workers this size of this 'o'.

Realistically, I suspect that their stingers can't even penetrate past my dead layer of skin, but I thought I would ask just for reassurance.

~Dan

Edited by Works4TheGood, September 10 2015 - 5:05 PM.

[ctantkeeper]

I've never been stung by S. molesta either, their stingers are very small and have a very hard time penetrating human skin, however i have heard that there sting is similar to the feeling of being poked with a hot needle. it said it in the description for S. molesta for ants of new england

[gcsnelling]

Barely able to feel it.

[Works4TheGood]

It sounds like my spiny, feather pillow here poses a greater threat than an entire colony of these guys. At least I won't have to wear gloves when messing with their setups. Typical, harmless, PA ants!

The other day, my girls ran to me screaming, "Daddy, Daddy! She's got ants in her hair!" I took a look at my daughter's head expecting to find two or three random bugs scurrying around. They were right! She had about 25 ants (probably Crematogaster cerasi) each futility trying to annihilate a single long hair on her head. I was caught off guard by just how tenacious these little warriors were! I ended up pulling them out of her hair one-by-one in the same way that you'd forceably extract burrs from a sweater. Luckily, that's about as bad as it gets with Pennsylvania ants ... good ol', harmless, Pennsylvanian ants!

[dermy]

Yes ants like to get into hair, especially if it's really long and touches the ground when you bend down.

 

 

Just be glad they weren't a stinging species, that would suck

[Works4TheGood]

Yes ants like to get into hair, especially if it's really long and touches the ground when you bend down.

 

 

Just be glad they weren't a stinging species, that would suck

 

Well it was odd; the ants weren't quit near her scalp, nor did they seem to be progressing towards her scalp.  Each individual ant seemed to be too distracted as it ferociously attacked it's claimed hair until it was extra extra dead!  So I don't know that it would have mattered if they had stingers, other than it would be less fun pulling them out.

[dspdrew]

Dermy has all sorts of stuff crawling around in his hair.

[William. T]

S. Molesta hardly stings.