I lost a baby ducky to an ant bite, new pics page 4 of ants

[Judy]

That's about how dealing with fire ants is around here. I wonder if we don't have so many of big red and black ones -- they call them carpenter ants around here -- because of the fire ants.

Years ago, we were overrun with what was called sugar ants or piss ants, little black things that had a bite, but not a serious one, just a bit stingy and annoying for a few minutes, and I never heard of anyone having a true anaphylactic reaction to one. They would get in the house; people would set sugar bowls in water to keep them out. The sugar ants disappeared when the fire ants took over. Everyone has mounds of fire ants everywhere now. Things like Amdro keep them knocked back and (so far) out of the house, but certainly don't solve the problem.

Looking forward to a photo -- but please be careful!

 

[Judy]

Hmmm, redhen posted while I was writing; now I am wondering about the difference between bull ants and carpenter ants. I lived in Florida for several years; ours look like what we saw there, once in a while. Fire ants have a red head and a black body. I haven't seen a so-called carpenter ant recently enough to remember more than that they are black and red -- but they are much bigger than a fire ant, almost 1" long, at least. Gonna go Google.

Any entymologists on the board?

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Up here in MA the carpenter ants we have are a solid black and i dont think they bite..they mostly live in wood and eat your house apart...

The big ones in Florida were a red and black and very agressive and like i said the bite was nasty..worse than a red fire ant by far...And the Florida old timers always called them Bull Ants..

 

[redhen]

Quote:
yes, Please let me know what you come up with.. thanks.

 

[redhen]

I think i found it.. looks like both our names were correct.. its a florida carpenter /bull ant

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN455

 

[Judy]

I learned that there is a red and a black carpenter ant. The red one is sometimes called a bull ant, as redhen said. I was skimming fast, but I believe the red carpenter ant is more a southern US thing, and the black one a northern US thing. There is also a bull ant that lives in Australia; didn't stay with that long enough to try to guess if it is the same.

But I never found anything that looks like what they call a carpenter ant around here.

I left Florida in about 1979. I believe I remember what redhen is calling bull ants, though they were not something I personally ever had a real problem with. Clearly they were different from both fire ants, and from what is called carpenter ants around here. Never found a pic of what we have. I am at this point wondering if it is even really an ant. Have not seen one for a couple of years, and I live in the country, and have seen one on this property in the past.

I just might catch the next one.

Sorry, not much help. Still looking forward to the OP's pics!

 

[Judy]

I found it!

It's not an ant, it's a wasp!

http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/cowkiller.shtml

Explains why they are seen so rarely. The "cow killer" name even sounded familiar when I found it, but they are usually called carpenter ants. So much for common names....

Fortunately, I can't attest to the painfulness of the sting.

Surely it's not what the OP got bitten by, anyway.

 

[Cara]

We have something here that looks like a cow killer but with much duller coloration, they are light brown; not sure if it even is a cow killer though. They almost look like honeybees with no wings.

 

[WriterofWords]

I was trying to get a pic without getting too close or bitten again sorry. This is a part of my yard that is for parking and has gravel and rocks all around, it's not a build up of rocks they've made.

 

[BellLisamo]

omg poor baby duck! im so sorry for your loss!!