Ochetellus glaber

Ochetellus glaber
Ochetellus glaber worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Ochetellus
Species:
O. glaber
Binomial name
Ochetellus glaber
(Mayr, 1862)
Subspecies
  • Ochetellus glaber clarithorax Forel, 1902
  • Ochetellus glaber consimilis Viehmeyer, 1914
  • Ochetellus glaber sommeri Forel, 1902
Synonyms
  • Iridomyrmex itoi Forel, 1900
  • Iridomyrmex itoi abbotti Wheeler, W.M., 1906

Ochetellus glaber (also known as the black household ant) is a species of ant native to Australia. A member of the genus Ochetellus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, it was described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. Aside from Australia, O. glaber has been introduced to a number of countries, including China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States, where it has established itself in Hawaii and Florida. It has been found on Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Réunion, New Zealand, and the Solomon Islands. Compared with other ants, O. glaber is a small species, with workers measuring 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in). Males are the smallest at 1.6 mm (0.063 in), while the queens measure 5.2–5.5 mm (0.20–0.22 in). The ant's colour ranges from brown to black.

Described as an arboreal nesting species, O. glaber lives in open or savannah woodland areas, nesting under stones, old dry logs, rotten wood, and in hollow trees and plant stems. Nests can also be constructed in buildings and structures, specifically in pavings, ceilings and walls. It is both diurnal and nocturnal, forming long trails from trees in search of food such as honeydew and insects. It has developed some associations with certain flowers and also tends to associate with some insects, such as mealybugs and aphids. During the nuptial flight, queens mate with either one or multiple males; males only mate with a single queen. Sometimes, a subset of a colony may leave the main colony for an alternative nest site as an act of dispersal. O. glaber often invades human homes to feed on household foods, and is considered a household pest. It has been intercepted numerous times in the United States, where it has the potential to disrupt the biological control of certain pests and cause long-term ecological impacts in areas where it is not native.