# Bicolored Pennant Ant (*Tetramorium bicarinatum*)

The Bicolored Pennant Ant is a small, busy insect that loves to explore! With its unique two-tone colors, it's easy to spot while it scurries around looking for food.

- **Category:** [Insects](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/insect)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Urban areas

![Bicolored Pennant Ant](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Tetramorium_bicarinatum_worker.jpg&width=800)

Photo: S.E. Thorpe, Public domain · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tetramorium_bicarinatum_worker.jpg)

## Appearance

The Bicolored Pennant Ant is a small ant, typically 2.5-4mm long, with a distinct dark brown to black head and gaster, contrasted by a lighter reddish-brown thorax and legs. This striking two-toned coloration makes it visually unique among many common ant species.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Arthropoda
- **Class:** Insecta
- **Order:** Hymenoptera
- **Family:** Formicidae
- **Genus:** Tetramorium

## Interesting facts

- A Bicolored Pennant Ant queen can live for several years, laying thousands of eggs throughout her life!
- Some Bicolored Pennant Ant colonies are super-colonies, meaning they have multiple queens working together!
- These ants are fantastic scavengers, helping to clean up tiny bits of organic waste in their environment.
- They use tiny 'teeth' on their strong jaws to grip and carry food morsels many times their own size!

## Special abilities

- **Quick Sting Defense:** Bicolored Pennant Ant can deliver a mild sting using a small stinger, which helps them defend their colony from invaders.
- **Pheromone Pathfinding:** Bicolored Pennant Ant has special glands that produce scent trails, helping them guide nestmates to newly found food sources.
- **Versatile Nest Builders:** Bicolored Pennant Ant can excavate intricate nests in diverse materials like soil, rotting wood, or even wall voids, helping them adapt to many habitats.

## Measurements & details

- **Size:** 2.5-4 mm
- **Lifespan:** 60-120 days
- **Leg Count:** 6
- **Colony Size:** 10000

## Diet & Feeding

These tiny ants eat almost anything, from sweet plant nectar to small insects.

- **Primary Foods:** sugars, honeydew, dead insects, seeds, oils, crumbs
- **Foraging Method:** Foraging

## Ecological connections

- **Depends on:** Cotton Aphid (*Aphis gossypii*) — collects sweet honeydew secreted by these aphids.
- **Eats:** House Fly (*Musca domestica*) — scavenges on dead individuals of this common fly.

## Traits

- [Social](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/social): Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.
- [Omnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/omnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet includes both plant and animal matter.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Decomposer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/decomposer): Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.
- [Diurnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/diurnal): Diurnal animals are primarily active during daylight hours, typically resting or sleeping at night.
- [Miniature](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/miniature): Pertaining to species that are significantly smaller than typical or average for their kind.
- [Urban Friendly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/urban-friendly): This habitat trait indicates species that can coexist with humans in urban and suburban environments, utilizing man-made structures and green spaces.
- [Pollinator](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator): Describes organisms that transfer pollen, enabling the fertilization and reproduction of plants.

## Collections

- [Insects](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/insects)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Be careful not to disturb their homes and watch them from a distance.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Bicolored Pennant Ant?

Compare the antennae, waist segments, body proportions and size. Workers, queens and males of the same species can look surprisingly different. Ant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How big is Bicolored Pennant Ant?

2.5-4 mm

### How long does Bicolored Pennant Ant live?

60-120 days

### What does Bicolored Pennant Ant eat?

These tiny ants eat almost anything, from sweet plant nectar to small insects.

### Where is Bicolored Pennant Ant usually found?

Urban areas

### How does Bicolored Pennant Ant hunt?

Foraging

### How many legs does Bicolored Pennant Ant have?

6

### How large are Bicolored Pennant Ant colonies?

10000

## More Insects

- [Common Eastern Bumble Bee](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-eastern-bumble-bee) (*Bombus impatiens*)
- [Spotted Lanternfly](https://www.snappit.app/explore/spotted-lanternfly) (*Lycorma delicatula*)
- [Brown-belted Bumble Bee](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-belted-bumble-bee) (*Bombus griseocollis*)
- [Eastern Carpenter Bee](https://www.snappit.app/explore/eastern-carpenter-bee) (*Xylocopa virginica*)

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Source: [Bicolored Pennant Ant: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/bicolored-pennant-ant)