Western Subterranean Termite

Physical Features

Subterranean termites have 6 legs, 3 body parts with a broad waist, segmented antennae and an exoskeleton. Protozoa in their digestive tract are responsible for converting wood products to usable nutrients. Caste features differ: Swarmers/Alates-3/8” long with wings, yellow-brown, two sets of equal sized wings are transparent with hardened veins; Workers-Hardened strong mouthparts for chewing which causes structural damage; Soldiers -Rectangular heads are longer than wide and are used for I.D. purposes, two long mandibles extend from their head for defense and grooming, and a pore on top of head expels a milky substance for defense; Secondary Reproductives-Larger and darker than workers, sometimes have wing pads; Queen-Largest member of the colony, abdomen and ovaries grow allowing for increase egg production, and are capable of producing 20,000-80,000 eggs per year.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Termites are social insects living in colonies with a caste system including reproductives, workers and soldiers. Termites exchange pheromones to aid in colony communication and determining caste upon need. Completion of caste roles are essential to the survival of a colony. Winged forms leave an existing colony in a large mass. 3% survive and submerge back into the soil to begin developing a new colony. The queen deposits and cares for eggs. As colonies become established, workers forage for food and bring back and feed colony members through trophallaxis. Soldiers guard opening in the gallery, and protect colony members from predators like ants. Secondary Reproductives help to care for eggs and egg production when colony mature. Workers make up most of the colony population but have the shortest span of up to 5 years. Queens have the longest life span living up to 25 years. Soldiers make up 2-5% of the colony population.

Habits

• Diet: Wood, especially cellulose portion
• Activity: Constantly active
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Soldiers defend, pheromone communication
• Cautions: Can cause costly destruction to structures
• Home Invasion: May see mud tunnels or tubes coming from the soil or inside structures going along walls or from the ceiling.  May also see clusters of wings lying on the ground indicating alates have recently submerged beneath the surface to begin a colony. 

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminate moisture sources near the structure and check for leaky pipes regularly.
• Keep untreated wood away from contacting structures.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Termites cause $4 billion in damage per year.

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Marginitermes hubbardi (Desert Drywood Termites)
Incisitermes minor (Western Drywood Termites)

Physical Features

Drywood termites are a social insect having caste members including reproductives, soldiers and nymphs. Each caste has different physical features. Reproductive alates are 1/2 inch long, dark brown to yellow, and have smoky gray wings. Soldiers are brownish, 1/2 inch long, have large developed heads and strong mandibles. Nymphs are white to grayish and 1/2 inch long.

Life Cycle

Incomplete metamorphosis
Winged females and males (alates) emerge from wood initiating the reproductive process through swarming. Female and male reproductives will lose their wings, pair up, and find a crevice in wood to mate. The queen lays and cares for the eggs during the two-week period it takes for them to hatch. Nymphs emerge and take on the role of a worker. They forage for food and feed the colony. Nymphs will molt and eventually develop into either a soldier or reproductive caste depending on the need of the colony. It takes up to 2 years to molt 5 times. Soldiers use their large mandibles to help protect the colony. Reproductives help the queen care and reproduce eggs. The growth of drywood colonies is slower than subterranean termite colonies.

Habits

• Diet: Wood. Nymphs eat with and across the grain of wood leaving a smooth gallery.
• Activity: Continually active. Swarm usually late summer or early fall in Arizona.
• Preferred Climate: 80-90 degrees and relative humidity
• Defense: Soldiers protect the colony from invaders with their mandibles.
• Cautions: Damage to structures can be extremely costly and should be treated immediately.
• Sign of Infestation: Fecal pellets and wood shavings. Small openings found in a structure or furniture above debris.  Mass wings on a surface.
• Home Invasion: Enter homes through cracks and crevices, window openings during the swarming process, or furniture brought into the home is already infested. Multiple infestations can occur within one structure.

Helpful Hints for Control

Recommend inspection of home to determine service plan.

Interesting Fact

Drywood termites infest dry, sound wood with as little as 3 percent moisture content.

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Wolf Spider

Lycosa helluo

Physical Features

Wolf spiders are commonly mistaken for brown recluse spiders, but the violin shaped marking is absent on the wolf spider’s head. Like all spiders they have 8 legs and two body parts.  Wolf spiders also are 1 1/2 to 2 inches in length, hairy, brown to gray in color with markings and lines, and have fang-like mouthparts called chelicerae. They have 4 equal sized eyes on the bottom row, and 2 enlarged eyes on the top row.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Wolf spiders develop from an egg, spiderlings, subadult, to an adult. Females lay dozens of eggs that they wrap in a webbed ball/sac and carry with them. Spiderlings climb on the mother’s back after hatching and are carried for several weeks. Young leave mother when they are large enough to hunt. They molt several times until mature. Wolf spiders live several years and are active hunters.

Habits

• Diet: Actively hunt insects and spiders.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climate
• Defense: Speed, fast moving spiders.
• Cautions: Can bite if disturbed, but not considered dangerous.
• Home Invasion: Primarily occupy the outdoors, but will occasionally roam indoors in search of food or to stay warm during winter. Will be found around doors, windows, houseplants, basements, garages, etc. They will be close to the ground since they are not good climbers.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove debris around the home that spiders may inhabit.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Wolf spiders are numerous active hunters that are extremely important to the ecosystem.

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Tarantula

Aphonopelma chalcodes (most common Arizona species)

Physical Features

Tarantulas are hairy spiders with 8 legs, 2 body parts, and 8 eyes set close together. They have 2 large fangs under their abdomen. They are reddish-brown, dark brown or black in color. They are 1 to 5 inches in length, have a bald spot on abdomen, and urticating hairs. These hairs are rubbed on to predators for defense, which causes itching and rashes on their victims.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Males become sexually mature after several years. They are attracted to females by a scent she leaves on the web surrounding her burrow. Males will perform a courtship dance to attract the female, mating will occur, then the males die a few months later. Females lay eggs in a cocoon within her burrow and she guards the cocoon for 6-9 weeks until 500-1,000 spiderlings hatch. 2-3 weeks later young will leave the burrow. Female stores sperm and will continue fertilization the remainder of her 25 year life span.

Habits

• Diet: Feed on insects, small spiders and small lizards by secreting juices with their fangs.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Dry, Arid Enviroment
• Defense: Make a hissing sound by rubbing their jaws, front legs or palps against each other. Urticating hairs. Faint webbing around perimeter of burrow.
• Cautions: Tarantulas are not a threat to humans, tarantulas rarely bite or kick off hairs in defense. Clean bites with soap and water, and remove hairs with tape.
• Home Invasion: Burrows may be spotted when walking around the perimeter of a home. Tarantulas may occasionally enter a structure in search of food, but can be removed and relocated.

Helpful Hints for Control

Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

There are over 800 species of tarantulas worldwide including the largest spider known: the South American Goliath Bird Eating Spider reaches a body length with legs of up to 12 inches.

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Black Widow Spider

Lactrodectus mactans

Physical Features

Black widows have eight legs and two body parts like all spiders. They have specific markings used for identification, but these markings vary and can make identifying difficult. Females are 1/2 inch long, shiny black with a red hourglass shaped marking on a round abdomen. Males are black with red spots and white lines going out to the side. They are half the size of the female. Spiderlings are orange and white in color turning blacker with each molt.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
The mating process begins in the spring or summer. The female can devour males after they mate, but this is not as common as the spider’s name suggests. Males often stick around the web after mating to feed on prey caught in the female’s web. Female lays 25 to 250 eggs in a white, silken case suspended from the web. Spiderlings hatch inside case, but don’t emerge until after their first molt around 4 weeks later. Female guards the egg case until spiderlings come out. Spiderlings leave the web through a process called ballooning. They release a tiny thread caught by air currents. It takes 2-4 months until mature. Females live 1-3 years. Males live 1 year.

Habits

• Diet: Insects\
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climate
• Defense: Web. Females bite if disturbed. Males do not bite. They bite their prey releasing a neurotoxin, paralyzing their prey so they can suck their prey’s fluids.
• Cautions: Black widow bites are painful resulting in localized pain, severe cramping, nausea, sweating, fever, etc. A physician should be consulted if bitten since reactions vary due to person and amount of venom introduced.
• Home Invasion: Black widows enter a home in search of shelter. They live in solitary. Normally found in sheds and garages or other areas that are darker and less trafficked.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove debris around the home that black widows may inhabit.
• Wear gloves when working in areas that black widows may be residing.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Contrary to popular belief, the female black widow does not always kill her partner after mating.

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Arizona Brown Spider

Loxosceles arizonica

Physical Features

Arizona Brown Spider is a species of brown recluse spiders found in Arizona. It has two body parts and eight legs, a distinct violin shaped marking on top of head, 3 sets of eyes, 1/4 to 1/2 inches long with long thin legs, and yellowish to light brown color.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Arizona Brown Spiders develop from an egg, spiderlings, subadult to an adult. The process begins after mating which occurs during February to October. 40-50 eggs are deposited in silken egg cases. Females produce 1-5 egg cases during their lifetime. Spiderlings mature in about one year after completing a series of molts. Live an average of 2 – 4 years.

Habits

• Diet: Small insects caught in webs or hunted.  Can survive 6-12 months without food.
• Activity: Hunt at night
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climate
• Defense: Toxic bite and violin marking on head which scares its predators.
• Cautions: Bite may cause necrosis if enough venom is injected. Consult a physician if bitten by a recluse.
• Home Invasion: Primarily found outdoors, an Arizona Brown Spider may be seen hiding in cracks or crevices during the day and actively about at night.  It is possible to find their shed skins on surfaces.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Removal of trash or debris (woodpiles, boxes, tires, etc.) stored around the home.
• Seal openings in the home that could be entry points.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

It is thought that the number of necrotic wounds attributed to brown recluse bites is highly misdiagnosed.

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Webbing Clothes Moth

Tineola bisselliella

Physical Features

Adults are golden colored with reddish hairs on the head. They have slightly pointed wings with a span of 3/4 inch, and a body 1/4 inch long. Larvae are white with a dark head.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
40-50 ivory eggs are laid on fabrics over a two-week period. The female dies after egg depositing is complete, but males continue to live. The eggs hatch in 4-21 days. Larvae molt 5 to 45 times depending on food resources available. They spin silk tunnels. They will pupate in crevices. The life cycle is complete in 65 to 90 days.

Habits

• Diet: Feed on soiled materials.
• Activity: In dark areas.
• Preferred Climate: Warmer climates
• Defense: Small size makes it easy to evade harm.
• Cautions: Destroy fabrics
• Home Invasion: Usually found close to infested areas like closets. Do not like lights and will hide when disturbed.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Clean under furniture, baseboards, cabinets and closets.
• Store fabrics that have been cleaned and are in a sealed container.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The excrement of clothes moth will be the color of the fabric they are eating.

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Pill Bug or Sow Bug

Pill Bug or Sow Bug Armadillidiidium vulgare

Physical Features

They have a hard exoskeleton, three basic body parts, and are dark gray to white. They have seven pairs of legs and two pairs of antennae. They have appendages at the end of their abdomen called uropods. Females have growths at base of some legs to hold eggs while they are developing. Breathe through gills since they are isopods.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
The female holds up to 100 eggs in pouches at the base of her legs. Immatures will stay in pouch after hatching for a few days. They look similar to adult forms. They will molt 4-5 times before becoming sexually mature.

Habits

Diet: Dead or decaying animals, sometimes plants.

Activity: Some species are nocturnal.

Preferred Climate: Humid

Defense: Roll up when disturbed.

Cautions: Not a threat

Home Invasion: Primarily live outdoors. Will come indoors if moisture and food available.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminate moisture near or in home.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Molting occurs in two stages. The first half sheds then the second half sheds, therefore, the pill bug can be two different colors when this is happening.

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Field Cricket

Gryllus assimili

Physical Features

1/2 to 1 1/4 inch long, usually black in color and a thicker body. The hind legs are longer than the front. Males have a sharp ridge on one wing called a scraper, and wrinkles on the other called a file. He rubs these together to make the chirping sound used for mating and to communicate danger. Openings on the front legs serve as ears as crickets sense vibrations.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Crickets have a lifespan of one year. They lay eggs in late fall after mating. The female places eggs in soil or cracks and crevices using a tube called an ovipositor. The eggs hatch in the spring when young emerge. The young look similar to adult forms and are capable of walking, running and jumping. The young go through a series of molts before becoming adults. Females go through 9 molts and males through 10. This process takes 65-102 days.

Habits

• Diet: Omnivores eating plants as well as insects.
• Activity: Nocturnal. More active in warm temperatures
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Warning chirps.
• Cautions: Can be destructive to crops, clothing and other textiles. Chirping sound can be a nuisance.
• Home Invasion: Occasionally invade homes especially in the fall when the home provides a warmer environment. Will hide in cracks and crevices until nighttime.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Reduce night lighting or use yellow lights.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

In the Orient, the sound of a singing cricket inside a home is considered a thing of beauty.

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Earwigs

Forficula auriculaira (European-most common in US)

Physical Features

Earwigs are typical insects with three body parts, six legs and antennae. They can be winged or wingless and are 1/4 to 1/2 inch long. Their narrow, elongated bodies are brown to reddish brown. Some species squirt an odorous liquid for defense, which can be smelled if squished by humans. Cerci extending from the abdomen are forcep-like. This feature often intimidates people fearing they will be pinched, but in reality the pinchers are unable to penetrate skin. The pinchers are larger and more curved in the males, they are used for a defensive and offensive weapon, and can be used to capture prey.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
This process from egg to adult begins when females lay 20 to 60 eggs in burrows. The time taken for eggs to hatch depends on environmental conditions, but typically is between 20 to 70 days hatching when temperatures are cooler. The female exhibits maternal characteristics until immature forms (nymphs) leave the burrow after one season. Females “lick” individual eggs possibly to prevent fungi growth, guard eggs and nymphs, and feed nymphs until first molt.

Habits

• Diet: Plants, earthworms or other insects
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Cooler temperatures
• Defense: Pinchers, live in clusters and communicate through pheromone exchange.
• Cautions: Harmless
• Home Invasion: They typically live outdoors but occasionally will enter structures if environmental conditions are not adequate or food sources limited. 

Helpful Hints for Control

• Reduce lighting around doors or use yellow lights.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.;

Interesting Fact

Named after an old, widespread superstition that they would crawl into people’s ears when they were sleeping and bore into their brain.

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Carpet Beetle

Attagenus spp.
Anthrenus spp.

Physical Features

Small, oval insects normally less than 1/8 to 1/4 inch long. The larvae are usually half the size of the adult and are covered with bristles. Some species are a solid black while others can be mottled in color. Some possess scales on their bodies.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Females lay 30 to100 eggs in secluded, dark areas near food sources. Eggs hatch in 1-3 weeks. Larvae molt 5-12 times over a 3-36 month period. Pupa stage lasts 6 to 24 days. The adult takes up to 3 weeks to emerge.

Habits

• Diet: Animal based materials like wool, insects in stored products, seeds. Adults feed on pollen.
• Activity: Dark Areas
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Small unnoticeable size
• Cautions: Larval stage causes damage to fabrics and stored food sources/products.
• Home Invasion: Mainly found indoors hidden in carpet fibers, stored products, by baseboards or windows. Small irregular holes will be a sign of feeding.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Vacuum regularly
• Clean fabrics and use moth crystals or balls when storing.
• Store fabrics and food in tightly sealed containers.
• Discard all infested material.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Larvae can grow backwards, if deprived of food. This process is called retrogressive molting.

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Mosquitoes

Aedes aegypti
Anopheles quadrimaculatus (common malaria mosquito)

Physical Features

Mosquitoes, like all insects, have three body parts, six legs and antennae. They have a pointed abdominal tip and clear wings with dark scales. Aedes females are typically dark with white markings and banded legs. The piercing-sucking mouthparts (proboscis) are shorter than the palp, feelers. The proboscis and body move in two axes. Anopheles mosquitoes lack scales on their bodies having hairs instead. Males have bushy antennae compared to females. The piercing-sucking mouthparts (proboscis) and palp (feelers) are equal length, and the proboscis and body move in one axis.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Eggs are laid on the surface of water and hatch in 1 to 3 days. In temporary water environments, the Aedes female may lay eggs well in advance of the water’s presence, and the eggs hatch once water occupies the cavity. Anopheles will lay eggs in larger bodies of water surrounded by vegetation, and their eggs will have floats on either side of it. Larvae are aquatic, filter feeders and develop in 7 to 10 days. Pupae float on the water’s surface like a raft for 1 to 3 days then an adult emerges completing development from egg to adult in 10 to 16 days. This process begins to repeat within 28 hours after the adult emerges, but females will not lay eggs without taking a blood meal. Males need nectar and plant juices. The adult lives less than one month. Fertilized females will overwinter, emerging on warm days to feed, and lay eggs in the spring.

Habits

• Diet: Nectar, plant juices, blood
• Activity: Aedes - near breeding sites. Anopheles - 2 miles from breeding site. Most species fly higher than 5 feet.
• Preferred Climate: Humid, temperate climate.
• Defense: Release an anti-coagulant into wounds preventing blood from clotting so they can suck their food more easily.
• Cautions: Principal vectors of Yellow Fever, Dengue, West Nile Virus and Encephalitis. Any body of water regardless of size is a potential site for egg to pupa development. Females will bite.
• Home Invasion: Mosquitoes may come through openings in home to find breeding site or
  food. Encounters will most likely be in yards.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Reduce the amount of standing water
• Clear away any items that are potential water carriers.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The construction of the Panama Canal was delayed not only by financial setbacks, but by diseases, Yellow Fever and Malaria, spread by mosquitoes to canal workers. Fumigation was a treatment method used.

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Conenose or Kissing Bug

Triatoma rubida

Physical Features

The adult conenose bug is 3/4 to 1 inch long and dark gray to black in color. Wings overlap on the top of the abdomen forming a distinct letter “X”. Abdomen is wide and flattened. Head is cone-shaped with a short, curved mouthpart. 3-segmented proboscis (beak) extends backward below the body.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Eggs are laid in summer and take 3-5 weeks to hatch. Nymphs go through 5 stages requiring a blood meal and molting before entering the next stage. The nymph stage lasts through winter before entering the adult stage in the spring. Adults are capable of flying since wings are developed. Feeding takes 20-30 minutes and 1 week to digest. 

Habits

• Diet: Blood feeders
• Activity: Feed at night and rest during the day, fly long distances to feed
• Preferred Climate: Temperate
• Defense: Large insect that can be intimidating.
• Cautions: Congregate around light sources. Humans sometimes have allergic responses. Spread Chagas disease through pathogen found in their feces. Brought into contact by rubbing affected area, eyes or mouth.
• Home Invasion: Occasionally enter homes. It is possible to wake up with mosquito like bites and to find an engorged bug in the bed.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminate or minimize light sources around home
• Remove rodent nests around home. In Arizona they often inhabit packrat nests.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Called Kissing Bug after the South American species that prefers to bite sleeping victims on the face about the lips. 

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Cat Flea

Ctenocehalides felis

Physical Features

Cat fleas have three body parts like all insects: head, thorax, and abdomen. A unique feature, however, is their vertical flatness. Eggs are smooth, pearly white, oval shaped with round edges. Found on floor of any area the pet resides. Larva are slender, white, have sparse hairs, 1/10 inch long and are blind. Pupa have loosely spun cocoon about 1/5 inch long. Adults are1/6 to 1/8 inch long, dark reddish brown, wingless. They are covered with spines that point backward. Three pairs of legs with exceptionally powerful hind legs capable of jumping far distance. Piercing-sucking mouthparts.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
The time to complete this process ranges from two weeks to eight months depending on environmental conditions. Eggs are laid on host, falling off in areas host frequents. Females lay up to 600 eggs in her lifetime. Larva feed on adult feces, dead skin and other organic debris. They take a week to several months to develop. Pupae form a cocoon made from hair, grass, etc. , and emerge after 5 to 14 days.  Adults need a blood meal within one week after emerging from cocoon and before they lay eggs. Can live up to one year without feeding at any other time.

Habits

• Diet: Blood, feces, dead skin
• Activity: Before laying eggs and immediately after emerging from pupa
• Preferred Climate: Temperatures between 55 and 90 degrees
• Defense: Spines on back. Bite.
• Cautions: Irritate pets. Bite Humans usually on legs and ankles.
• Home Invasion: Areas commonly infested are the pet's sleeping area or frequented areas, as well as, paths they travel.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Regular pet grooming, wash/removal of pet bedding.
• Keeping lawns maintained.
• Frequent vacuuming
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

One female flea can multiply to over 25.000 fleas in 30 days under optimal environmental conditions.

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Brown Dog Tick

Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Physical Features

Brown Dog Ticks are arachnids so they have eight legs and two body parts. Their elongated bodies are red-brown in color and 1/8 inch long. Engorged females grow to 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide and turn gray-blue to olive colored. Larval ticks only have six legs. Ticks have a hexagonal shaped connection (capituli) at the head and body joint. They also have two mouthparts: backward shaped teeth to open skin and make holes, and piercing sucking mouthparts to draw blood.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis 
Develop from egg, larva, nymph to an adult. Adult females will lay 1,000 to 3,000 eggs after engorging on dog’s blood. Eggs hatch in 19-60 days and can be found in the house around baseboards, window and door casings, curtains, furniture and edges of rugs. The larva hatch and have six legs. They will attach to dog for 3-6 days, turns bluish in color, and drop back to floor. 6-23 days later it will molt into the nymph form, which is eight legged, reddish-brown, and also attaches to dog host to feed. It molts into adult form within 12-19 days. Adult seeks blood meal then crawls upwards to cracks and crevices in ceilings or wall hangings to lay eggs. The female dies shortly after depositing eggs. Unengorged adults can live up to 200 days without a blood meal. These adults will hide in cracks and crevices until they feed.

Habits

• Diet: Blood
• Activity: When ready to feed or lay eggs.
• Preferred Climate: Warmer climate.
• Defense: Small unnoticeable size
• Cautions: Will attach to other available animals including humans, they are most attracted to dogs. Pet may act irritable. Carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and tick paralysis.
• Home Invasion: Pets will carry in ticks from outdoors. The ticks will hide in cracks and crevices until they feed.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Keep dogs off natural paths and other landscape transition zones where ticks may be found.
• Treating the pet completed by the pet owner or a veterinarian.
• Cleaning areas that pet frequents.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Remove a tick from the point of entry (where the mouthparts attach to the skin) by firmly and steadily pulling directly outward without twisting. Put removed tick in alcohol to kill it. Clean the bite with disinfectant.

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Striped Tail Scorpion

Hadrurus arizonensis (Desert Hairy)
Centruroides excilicauda (Bark)
Vaejouis spinigerus (Striped-Tailed)

Physical Features

Scorpions have two body parts, eight legs, a set of large pincers, fang-like appendages near the mouth, and a segmented tail. The last bulbous section (telson) of the tail houses the venom glands. Pincers aid in catching prey as the telson injects the venom. The body has a hard, protective covering called an exoskeleton. Scorpions have multiple sets of eyes, but have poor sight, therefore, they depend on a comb-like organ at the base of the last pair of legs to act like a feeler. The three main scorpions found in Arizona are the Desert Hairy, Bark and Striped-Tailed scorpions.

Desert Hairy

• Up to six inches in length
• Pale yellow to brown color
• Intimidating size

Bark Scorpion

• Less than one inch in length
• Light yellow color
• Most venomous

Striped-Tailed

• 2 1/4 inches long
• Yellow to tan color
• Dark triangle mark between the eyes

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Male and female scorpions begin the mating process by holding each other’s pincers (pedipalps). The male leads the female to an appropriate mating sight where he deposits his sperm onto the ground so that she can draw the sperm into her genital pore. 5 months to 1 year later, the female will catch her live young, and they will crawl onto her back remaining there until after their first molt reveals a hardened exoskeleton. The average life span is 2 years.

Habits

• Diet: Any invertebrate including many insects, worms, and baby lizards.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Temperatures above 60 degrees
• Defense: Pincers and venom injected.
• Cautions: Scorpions will sting when touched, mishandled or if they become trapped against skin after crawling into shoes, clothing or bedding. All scorpion species in the US are venomous but do not pose a large health risk unless the victim has an allergic reaction or is a small child or elderly, therefore, it is recommended that a physician always be notified if a person is stung.
• Home Invasion: Scorpions may find their way into a home, hiding under rocks, woodpiles, crevices or anyplace providing shade and seclusion.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove debris in and around the home. Keep trash cans elevated.
• Keep landscape well-maintained.
• Never bring firewood inside the house unless it is placed directly on the fire.
• Keep window screens in good repair and check they fit tightly in frame.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The scorpion’s chitinous exoskelton glows under ultraviolet or “black” lights.

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Desert Hairy Scorpion

Hadrurus arizonensis (Desert Hairy)
Centruroides excilicauda (Bark)
Vaejouis spinigerus (Striped-Tailed)

Physical Features

Scorpions have two body parts, eight legs, a set of large pincers, fang-like appendages near the mouth, and a segmented tail. The last bulbous section (telson) of the tail houses the venom glands. Pincers aid in catching prey as the telson injects the venom. The body has a hard, protective covering called an exoskeleton. Scorpions have multiple sets of eyes, but have poor sight, therefore, they depend on a comb-like organ at the base of the last pair of legs to act like a feeler. The three main scorpions found in Arizona are the Desert Hairy, Bark and Striped-Tailed scorpions.

Desert Hairy

• Up to six inches in length
• Pale yellow to brown color
• Intimidating size

Bark Scorpion

• Less than one inch in length
• Light yellow color
• Most venomous

Striped-Tailed

• 2 1/4 inches long
• Yellow to tan color
• Dark triangle mark between the eyes

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Male and female scorpions begin the mating process by holding each other’s pincers (pedipalps). The male leads the female to an appropriate mating sight where he deposits his sperm onto the ground so that she can draw the sperm into her genital pore. 5 months to 1 year later, the female will catch her live young, and they will crawl onto her back remaining there until after their first molt reveals a hardened exoskeleton. The average life span is 2 years.

Habits

• Diet: Any invertebrate including many insects, worms, and baby lizards.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Temperatures above 60 degrees
• Defense: Pincers and venom injected.
• Cautions: Scorpions will sting when touched, mishandled or if they become trapped against skin after crawling into shoes, clothing or bedding. All scorpion species in the US are venomous but do not pose a large health risk unless the victim has an allergic reaction or is a small child or elderly, therefore, it is recommended that a physician always be notified if a person is stung.
• Home Invasion: Scorpions may find their way into a home, hiding under rocks, woodpiles, crevices or anyplace providing shade and seclusion.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove debris in and around the home. Keep trash cans elevated.
• Keep landscape well-maintained.
• Never bring firewood inside the house unless it is placed directly on the fire.
• Keep window screens in good repair and check they fit tightly in frame.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The scorpion’s chitinous exoskelton glows under ultraviolet or “black” lights.

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Bark Scorpion

Hadrurus arizonensis (Desert Hairy)
Centruroides excilicauda (Bark)
Vaejouis spinigerus (Striped-Tailed)

Physical Features

Scorpions have two body parts, eight legs, a set of large pincers, fang-like appendages near the mouth, and a segmented tail. The last bulbous section (telson) of the tail houses the venom glands. Pincers aid in catching prey as the telson injects the venom. The body has a hard, protective covering called an exoskeleton. Scorpions have multiple sets of eyes, but have poor sight, therefore, they depend on a comb-like organ at the base of the last pair of legs to act like a feeler. The three main scorpions found in Arizona are the Desert Hairy, Bark and Striped-Tailed scorpions.

Desert Hairy

• Up to six inches in length
• Pale yellow to brown color
• Intimidating size

Bark Scorpion

• Less than one inch in length
• Light yellow color
• Most venomous

Striped-Tailed

• 2 1/4 inches long
• Yellow to tan color
• Dark triangle mark between the eyes

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Male and female scorpions begin the mating process by holding each other’s pincers (pedipalps). The male leads the female to an appropriate mating sight where he deposits his sperm onto the ground so that she can draw the sperm into her genital pore. 5 months to 1 year later, the female will catch her live young, and they will crawl onto her back remaining there until after their first molt reveals a hardened exoskeleton. The average life span is 2 years.

Habits

• Diet: Any invertebrate including many insects, worms, and baby lizards.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Temperatures above 60 degrees
• Defense: Pincers and venom injected.
• Cautions: Scorpions will sting when touched, mishandled or if they become trapped against skin after crawling into shoes, clothing or bedding. All scorpion species in the US are venomous but do not pose a large health risk unless the victim has an allergic reaction or is a small child or elderly, therefore, it is recommended that a physician always be notified if a person is stung.
• Home Invasion: Scorpions may find their way into a home, hiding under rocks, woodpiles, crevices or anyplace providing shade and seclusion.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove debris in and around the home. Keep trash cans elevated.
• Keep landscape well-maintained.
• Never bring firewood inside the house unless it is placed directly on the fire.
• Keep window screens in good repair and check they fit tightly in frame.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The scorpion’s chitinous exoskelton glows under ultraviolet or “black” lights.

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House Fly

Musca domestica

Physical Features

Females are typically longer than males, but both sizes depend on the food available. On an average they are 1/6 inch long. Females also have a broader space between their reddish eyes. Both have sponging mouthparts. The abdomen is gray or yellowish with dark markings, with males having a yellow underside. Body covered with fine hairs.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
This is a fast life cycle normally complete within 14 days if prime environmental conditions exist. A female deposits white egg clusters numbering about 75-150 eggs over a three-day period; resulting in a total of 500 eggs. The eggs are laid in moist, organic debris including manure and contents of trashcans. The white, legless larvae (commonly referred to as maggots) feed on the debris and can reach 3/8 inch in length over a 3-7 day period. The larva moves to a cooler area to pupate constructing a case from its last molting skin. After 3-4 days, a docile adult emerges. Normal activity begins in about 15 hours.

Habits

• Diet: Moist organic debris
• Activity: Constant activity in areas with proper environmental conditions
• Preferred Climate: Warm to hot temperatures, 70 to 90 degrees
• Defense: Size, speed, and leg hairs that excrete a sticky fluid so they can stick to ceilings and other hard to reach places.
• Cautions: Equated with spreading bacterial diseases
• Home Invasion: Flies will enter homes through any crack and crevice in search of food and egg laying sites.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Thorough sanitation practices around and in the home.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

A fly’s wings beat 200 times per second. The wings only move if legs are free.

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Drain Fly

Psychoda alternata

Physical Features

1/5 to 1/6 inch long, tan colored body, black and white wings. Body and wings are covered with hair. The wings appear larger than their bodies and are blamed for their weak flying ability. Antennae have 13 segments with the last being a bulb-like shape.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Eggs are laid in masses numbering 10-200 on the gel-like film that covers filters, drains, pipes or sewage disposal beds. Larvae emerges 32 to 48 hours later. They are gray, legless, 3/8 inch long, and live in the film breathing through a tube. This continues for 9 to 15 days then pupae float to the surface. Adults emerge after 20 to 40 hours. Adults live about 14 days.

Habits

• Diet: Adults feed on flower nectar and polluted water
• Activity: Most active during the evenings
• Preferred Climate: 70-90 degree temperatures
• Defense: Small size helps evade harm.
• Cautions: Do not bite humans. Nuisance and possibly spread disease.
• Home Invasion: Will be found clinging to bathroom, kitchen or basement walls. More specifically found on sides of showers and tubs or hovering over drains.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminating stagnant water accumulated near or in the home.
• Thorough sanitation practices.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

They are possibly the most common insects living in sewage plants.

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Sonoran Bumble Bee

Bombus spp.

Physical Features

Large bees growing 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches long, yellow and black, and hairy. Their hairy legs are used to collect and carry pollen to the hive.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
The queen places pollen in the middle of the nest in which she lays her eggs, and then she seals it with a wax covering. She also makes a honeypot, a wax cup filled with nectar, which she feeds from while waiting for the larvae to emerge. The larvae feed on the pollen inside their wax covering, and then the queen continues to feed them through an opening in the wax covering. The larvae spin cocoons when they are ready, and then emerge in their adult form. At the end of summer, the queen produces unfertilized eggs that develop into drones. Females produced during this time become new queens. The drones and workers die and the new, mated queens fly to a new nest site.

Habits

• Diet: Flower nectar.
• Activity: Active in the springtime and early Fall. Travel in small colonies from a few dozen to several hundred.
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Loud buzzing sound and painful stings.
• Cautions: Painful stings
• Home Invasion: Most nest in or near the ground in previously occupied burrows or crevices, but will occupy empty cavities in home structures. This includes under decks or patios, attics, stairways or in eaves of the home. They may also take harbor in woodpiles, leaf piles, or landscaping timber.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Clear debris that could be potential harboring sites.
• If activity is found call for service.

Interesting Fact

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Paper Wasp

Polistes spp.

Physical Features

Reddish-brown to dark brown with some yellow spots, slender build with long, thin legs, with smoky colored wings, about 1-inch long.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Workers, queens and males act to achieve colony survival. Mated females construct aerial nests in the spring. The nest has horizontal tiers of cells in an umbrella shaped paper-like nest. The most aggressive female lays an egg per cell leaving the remaining female to take over the role of worker.  The queen feeds the larvae when they hatch until they are ready to pupate. The cells are then covered with silk. More female workers emerge and spend the summer tending to the food collection, nest construction, and caring for the queen. Only mated females will live through the winter.

Habits

• Diet: Eat small insects during summer and flower nectar during the fall.
• Activity: Inactive during winter months.
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates.
• Defense: Sting if feel threatened.
• Cautions: Will sting multiple times. Some people have allergic reactions to these stings.
• Home Invasion: Paper wasps will make nests under decks, eaves, near vents, rafters, shutters, playground equipment, and tree branches

Helpful Hints for Control

• Avoid loud noises close to nest sites.
• Do not approach nest sites.
• If wasp activity is found call for service.

Interesting Fact

Paper wasps have been attributed to causing many car accidents.  If one is in your car, slowly pull off the road, and open car doors and windows.  DO NOT PANIC!

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Mud Dauber

Sceliphron caementarium (Black and yellow) Chalybion califernicum (Blue)

Physical Features

(Black and yellow) Dull black with parts of body being bright yellow with long, thin waist, dark wings, and 1/2 to 1/8 inch long.

(Blue) Dark metallic blue to black wasp with long, thin waist, 1/2 to 1 inch long, with bluish wings.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Females collect mud with their mandibles. They then use mud to form cylindrical shaped nests on walls or sides of equipment or use a previously constructed nest. They collect food and lay an egg on the prey within each cell and seal the cell with mud. The female then leaves the nest at the end of spring. When the new adult wasp emerges from the cell the cycle begins again.

Habits

• Diet: Insects and spiders
• Activity: More active during the day
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Sting their prey and paralyze them.
• Cautions: Not considered a threat. Rarely aggressive, but will sting if handled.
• Home Invasion: Mud daubers will make nests on structure walls, ceilings, eaves, porches, decks and especially near water sources mud can be collected for their nest construction.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Keep area around the home dry to reduce mud for nest construction.
• Nests should be removed.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Mud daubers are considered beneficial since they kill spiders and pose none or little harm to humans.

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Carpenter Bee

Xylocopa spp.

Physical Features

Large bees growing 1/2 to 1 inch long and have a shiny, hairless abdomen. Females are typically black with metallic reflections and males are a tan color. They have hairs on the hind legs. Females have mandibles used to excavate wood.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
After mating in the spring, the male and female return to old tunnels or create new, perfectly round holes 1/2 inch in diameter and a minimum 1-inch deep into softwood. A mixture of pollen and nectar is then regurgitated into the chamber and the egg is laid. Six to eight chambers are constructed and sealed off so that the egg can hatch, the larva can feed on the mixture and then pupate emerging in August in its adult form. Carpenter bees feed than return to their tunnels for the winter.

Habits

• Diet: Flower nectar. Do not eat the wood.
• Activity: Active in the springtime and early Fall. Travel in small colonies.
• Preferred Climate: Cooler temperatures
• Defense: Females will sting if provoked. Males do not sting but will dart towards humans to cause panic.
• Cautions: Initial damage caused is minimal, but subsequent broods will return and bore deeper into wood. The shavings falling below can result in stains.
• Home Invasion: Will bore holes in unprotected wood at least two inches thick.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Paint all exposed wood surfaces.
• Keep garages and other buildings closed during the bee’s active times.
• If activity is found call for service.

Interesting Fact

Adult carpenter bees die a few weeks after laying eggs.

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Africanized Honey Bee

Apis mellifera scutellata

Physical Features

The worker bee is responsible for protecting the hive, which will result in stinging if they feel the colony is being threatened. When they sting, the stinger, venom sac, muscle and other parts of their anatomy will separate from their body which results in their death. They are 3/4 inch long, brownish color and slightly fuzzy. Usually found in a large cluster either as a swarm or part of an established hive.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Develop from an egg, larva, pupa to an adult. They are social insects that develop into a caste member. Workers develop in 21 days, live for 50 days, and are the majority of the colony population. They are responsible for hive construction, food foraging, honey production, feeding young and protecting the hive. Drones develop in 24 days and live for 5-10 weeks. They reproduce with a queen. Queen develops in 16 days and lives up to 3 years. There is one living queen per colony responsible for egg production.

Habits

• Diet: Nectar and pollen
• Activity: Work longer hours than other bees from dusk to late into the evening.
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climates
• Defense: Erratic flight, loud buzzing sound, sting in large quantities.
• Cautions: Bees will attack people approaching their nest within 10-50 feet. Leave the area and contact professionals to come and assess the area and remove bees. Listen for buzzing and look for bees when entering or leaving an area.
• Home Invasion: Africanized Honey Bees prefer to nest in cavities close to the ground or even underground. Once they start a nest, the population can quickly grow from 5,000 to 40,000 if left unchecked. 

Helpful Hints for Control

• Remove any potential nesting sites near your home: empty boxes, old tires, lumber piles, etc.
• Inspect regularly for swarm or hive activity.
• If bee activity is found call for professional service immediately.

Interesting Fact

An Africanized species of bee was brought to Rio Clara, Brazil in 1956 to breed with native honey bees to improve the bee keeping industry. The Africanized species escaped and started breeding with other native bees. This population slowly migrated north entering the United States in 1993 permanently.

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Pack Rat/Wood Rat

Neotoma spp.

Physical Features

Bodies are 6-7 inches and tails 5-6 inches long. They have large ears, large dark eyes, long furry hair on their body and tails sparsely covered with hair. Their fur is soft and colored brown to gray with the belly being lighter in color. They have long hind legs and short front legs.

Life Cycle

Live young
Breeding occurs primarily in the spring with 1-5 litters per year. Litters can have one to four young. A litter is born after a gestation period of 33 to 39 days. Pack rats live singly unless mating or rearing young.  They can be found in dens close to the ground 3-5 feet in height and diameter. Some species build nests in trees.

Habits

• Diet: Feed on seeds, grasses and other vegetation.
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Dry environments since they get moisture from the foods they eat
• Defense: Speed, agile climbing, and some species will jump
• Cautions: Nests can have fleas that carry diseases. Rats are also known to carry disease and should not be handled.
• Home Invasion: Pack rats will enter homes in search of food through small exterior openings. They are attracted to shiny objects.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Seal openings into home.
• Inspect perimeter of home for possible nest sites.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Poison ivy is not poisonous to all. Wood rats will feed on the leaves, stems and seeds of this unpopular plant.

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House Mouse

Mus domesticus

Physical Features

Body 2-4 inches in length, equally long tail, moderately sized ears, grayish-brown with a gray or buff belly, and normally weigh .5 to 1 ounce. 

Life Cycle

Live Young
Mice may breed year round indoors producing 5-10 litters compared to outdoors where they breed less often. After an 18 to 21 day gestation period, the female delivers a litter of 2-13 young. The young are naked and have their eyes closed. After 2 weeks, they are covered with fur and their eyes and ears are open. They begin to make short trips from the nest foraging for food. At 6-10 weeks they are sexually mature. The nest is often shared.  Mice will travel 10-30 feet or more from their nest when searching for food or water. They can live long periods without water obtaining water from their food sources.

Habits

• Diet: Seeds. They are erratic feeders taking small bits at a time from different areas. Consume about 10% of their body weight per day.
• Activity: Nocturnal especially the time following sunset and prior to sunup.
• Preferred Climate: Depends on species but prefer constant temperatures found indoors.
• Defense: Speed and size. Rely on smells and pheromones.
• Cautions: Rapidly reproduces
• Home Invasion: House mice will nest in secluded areas within a structure or in the ground near structures or food sites.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Thorough sanitation practices to eliminate food sources
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Mice detect new items placed in their pathways, but unlike rats, they do not shy away from these items.

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Millipede

Orthoporous ornatus (Desert Millipedes)

Physical Features

Various colors ranging from shades of brown to yellow with black stripes, averaging 4 to 5 inches in length, cylindrical body, with 2 pairs of legs per section of body except for the first 3 sections which have only one pair of legs.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Females lay 20-300 eggs underground or in an isolated area. The eggs are not cared for by the female, and hatch in a few weeks. The young are smaller versions of the adult form molting as they grow and adding legs at each stage. After seven to ten molts, sexual maturity is reached. Millipedes can live up to ten years. 

Habits

• Diet: Forage for decaying organic material such as plant mulch and leaves.
• Activity: Nocturnal, burrowing underground during the day.
• Preferred Climate: Humid. Will see out in evenings after heavy rains.
• Defense: Releases a foul tasting chemical from sides of body. Will coil into a C shape and become motionless.
• Cautions: An unpleasant odor will be exuded if crushed. Some people may be allergic to this liquid.
• Home Invasion: Enter homes through cracks and crevices. Enter during summer searching for food or during winter for the warmer temperature.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Regular lawn maintenance keeping lawns cut short.
• Watering lawns in early morning so it can dry before evening.
• Remove wood, leaves and other plant debris near home.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Unlike their name suggests, millipedes do not have 1,000 legs. The maximum number of legs found on a millipede is 750.

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House Centipede

Scutigera coleoptrata

Physical Features

House centipedes have long, flattened and segmented bodies with one pair of legs per segment attached to the sides of their body. They grow up to 1 plus inches in length, have 15 pairs of long, thin legs with dark and white bands, are brown to grayish-yellow, have three longitudinal dark stripes on top, well-developed eyes, and poison jaws connected to poison glands used to kill insects.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
House centipedes lay an average of 60 eggs in the spring or early summer.  The larva hatch with four pairs of legs and will complete 5 instars increasing the number of leg pairs they have each time 5,7,9,11, and 13 pair.  They will complete four instars after the larva stage before becoming adults.

Habits

• Diet: Feed on small insects, larvae and spiders
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Damp, temperate environments
• Defense: Venom and speed
• Cautions: Considered harmless to people but will possibly bite. Venom could cause pain similar to a bee sting. Allergic reaction is possible.
• Home Invasion: Will live indoors or outdoors.  Inside they will inhabit areas in a home they can find moisture: bathrooms, cellars, stacks of firewood, etc.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminate moisture in or near the home that could attract centipedes.
• Clean possible food sources.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The last pair of legs serve to wrap around their prey.

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Giant Centipede

Scutigera heros

Physical Features

Giant centipedes have long, flattened and segmented bodies with one pair of legs per segment attached to the sides of their body. Range between 6 to 8 inches in length, 21 to 23 pairs of legs, 4 small legs on each side of head, and well-developed eyes. Poison glands connected to jaw and legs are used to kill insects. They also have a dark blue head and a posterior “pseudohead” to confuse predators.

Life Cycle

Gradual metamorphosis
Giant centipedes lay their eggs in cavities. The young, colorless immatures hatch with the same amount of legs as the adult. They complete four instars after the immature stage before becoming adult form.

Habits

• Diet: Small insects, larvae and spiders
• Activity: Nocturnal
• Preferred Climate: Damp, temperate environments
• Defense: Speed and venom from poison claws paralyze prey
• Cautions: Venomous centipedes in our area. Bite is painful, can also pinch with their last pair of legs.
• Home Invasion: Mainly found outdoors hiding under rocks and debris, but will occasionally enter a structure.  Possible nest locations are near areas pipes may be leaking or moisture is collected.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Eliminate moisture in or near the home that could attract centipedes.
• Clean possible food sources.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Giant centipedes in South America can grow over one foot in length.

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Leaf Cutter Ant

Acromyrmex versicolor

Physical Features

Legs are longer than their body size, 1/6 to 1/2 inch long, dark brown to rust brown, and two nodes between the abdomen and thorax. Large heads and long spines on the body make it easy to identify these ants.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Leaf cutter ants are social insects with eggs developing into larvae, pupa and a caste member: queen, workers (nursers and leaf collectors), soldiers, and drones. Females collect fungus and tuck into pockets in their head then leave the nest to find a drone. This swarming process most often occurs from April to June. Once she has mated she starts a nest and lays eggs. She will be the queen of the new colony and will produce up to 1,000 eggs per day. The colony will depend on the workers to select appropriate leaves to bring back to the colony. They will travel long distances for food creating distinct trails from the mound to food sources. Other workers ride on the leaves protecting the ant carrying the leaf from flies that may attack. Workers chew the leaves to a pulp-like material that sprouts fungus for the ants to eat. Colonies will have up to 5 fungus gardens growing at a time. Nests can go as deep as 8 feet or more below ground and reach horizontally as far as an acre. Colonies may contain 1,000,000 workers or more.

Habits

• Diet: Leaf and other vegetation
• Activity: Forage at night especially from May to September
• Preferred Climate: Summer time temperatures
• Defense: Soldier ants and rider ants
• Cautions: Painful bite and destroy vegetation
• Home Invasion: Mounds of the leaf cutter ant can be found in shaded areas that have moisture in the soil: under trees in washes, planters, and drainage areas. The mounds will be clear of any vegetation except for the leaves you may see worker ants carrying into the mound with distinct trails coming from the mound to food sources.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Keep a well-maintained landscape.
• Reduce moisture sources including leaks.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

Leaf cutter ants can carry leaves 30 times their weight.

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Red Harvester Ant

Pogonomyrmex barbatus

Physical Features

There are 22 species of harvester ants in the United States. These insects have six legs, three body parts and antenna, square-shaped heads, no spines on the body, red to dark brown, chewing mouthparts, and up to 1/2 inch long. They have powerful mandibles capable of cutting and carrying grass and small stems to the nest.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Winged males and females leave nests in swarms especially after rainfall. They couple off and mate. The males soon die and females find a nest site. She will drop her wings, and make a burrow to deposit eggs. White and legless larvae emerge until pupation occurs within a cocoon. Adult ants carry out their caste’s role: workers aid in caring for eggs, constructing the nest and foraging for food; queens produce eggs and care for developing ants; and males reproduce.

Habits

• Diet: Grass seeds, insects and spiders
• Activity: During the day
• Preferred Climate: Temperate climate; dry, arid environments
• Defense: Cover nest opening to keep intruders out and painful sting
• Cautions: Painful sting if disturbed
• Home Invasion: Mounds may be seen in the ground. The mound of red harvester ants will have vegetation cleared from 3 to 20 feet around the mound center. Pathway(s) of cleared vegetation from the mound may go as far as 200 feet.

Helpful Hints for Control

• Keep a well-maintained landscape.
• Reduce moisture sources including leaks.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

In 2003, harvester ants became the first ants to travel from earth to space on the NASA space shuttle. Scientists were studying the effects of space flight and weightlessness on the tunneling behavior during a 16-day flight.

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Argentine Ant

Linepithema humile

Physical Features

Argentine ants have three body parts, six legs, antennae, and coloring ranging from light to dark brown. Thorax is unevenly rounded and hairless. Compound eyes, but virtually blind. One bump (node) is between the thorax and abdomen. The size and identifying characteristics vary upon caste members: queens-1/6 to 1/4 inch, workers-half the size of queens, and males-wings.

Life Cycle

Complete metamorphosis
Development takes 33-141 days from egg, larva, pupa, to adult forms. Adult forms have a caste system with defined roles within the colony. Workers make up the largest population in the colony. They protect the colony, gather food, and construct nest. Many queens exist in the colony. They produce eggs, care for developing forms and groom. Males reproduce then leave the nest. They are attracted to lights.

Habits

• Diet: Not Selective, especially sweets
• Activity: Day and night
• Preferred Climate: Warmer climates. Travel deeper into soil or indoors in cold and wet seasons.
• Defense: Highly aggressive against other ant species eliminating other ant species in territories they invade.
• Cautions: Emit a greasy, musty odor when crushed, capable of biting when disturbed.
• Home Invasion: Trails of ants will be seen traveling along baseboards, carpet edges, furniture lines, etc. These ants will be searching for any food.

Helpful Hints for Control

Sanitation practices to eliminate food sources.

• Keep well-maintained landscape.
• Recommend regular pest control service plan.

Interesting Fact

The large population of invasive Argentine ants in California has been contributed to the sharp decline of the coastal horned lizard population. Studies have shown that these lizards cannot process adequate nutrients when digesting this species; therefore, they are unable to maintain their weight.

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