Grease ants

Photo from Iowa State University by L. Jesse

We’re being visited by grease ants for the first time ever that I can remember. They’re the tiniest of ants and easy to miss. The photo shows them next to a penny. And it appears to show them quite dead.

They do the organized supply line thing, with neat columns coming and going to the nest. They first went wild over a spatula with some butter on it.

From the University of Iowa:

These ants are technically known as thief ants. They are very small; only l to l.5 mm (1/16th inch) long. They are smooth and shiny and may be yellow to light or dark brown. Indoors, these ants nest in cracks and crevices of walls and cabinets, under floors and behind baseboards. The nests are frequently difficult to locate since the ants travel great distances in search of food. Though they will eat almost anything, these ants prefer to eat grease, fats and meats. Grease ants form a trail from the food to the nest and the moving columns of ants can be located with careful inspection.

I wonder if these were the ants my Grandma Green had one time. I have a memory of her very methodically using an index finger to crush them, one after another after another.