5 Things You Didn't Know About Lewisville's Acrobat Ants

Acrobat ants are interesting and resilient insects. This can make them frustrating to control when they come into your yard and get into your home. Today, we're discussing five things you may not know about acrobat ants in Lewisville, along with why it is important that you know these facts.

1. Understanding the Different Names of Acrobat Ants

What's in a name? A lot, actually. The common names given to acrobat ants reveal some interesting facts about these tiny ants. The word acrobat, for instance, is given to this ant because of the way it is able to bend at an odd, upward angle, and lift its abdomen over its thorax. It does this as a response to danger. It is also sometimes called a cocktail ant because of this raising of the abdomen. In some regions, it is referred to as a Valentine ant because its abdomen is shaped like a heart and is a reminder of the holiday of romance and love.

Why should you know this? Because it will help you to identify these ants. Proper identification is the first step in effective ant control. If you use the right products on the wrong ants, you won't get the results you're looking for.

2. Acrobat Ants: The Arboreal Lifestyle

Most species of acrobat ants are arboreal. Arboreal is a sciency word for animals that live primarily in trees. They live, eat, sleep, and play in trees.

Why should you know this? Because wood and leaves attract these ants. If you have firewood, construction materials, leaf piles, or sticks near your exterior walls, you will lure acrobat ants in close to your home. When they come close, they can scale the exterior of your home like they would a tree and begin to get into tiny openings.

3. The Diet of Acrobat Ants: Termites and Wasps

In nature, these ants can attack termite colonies that are infesting the heart rot of trees. These ants are one of the reasons termite colonies produce soldiers. It is an all-out battle when termites choose the wrong tree to feed on.
 
Wasps that create aerial nests on tree branches can be in a lot of trouble if acrobat ants find them, which happens quite often because acrobat ants are sensitive to the pheromone scent that wasps emit; they use these pheromones to zero in on a nest.

Why should you know this? If you have a lot of trouble with acrobat ants in your home, you may have a termite or wasp infestation that is providing a food source for these ants. That could be a serious problem.

4. The Risk of Acrobat Ants Near Electrical Equipment

There is some controversy as to why acrobat ants are drawn to electrical equipment but there is no denying that they are. They're often found nesting near electrical boxes and wires when they get inside homes.

Why should you know this? Acrobat ants chew the insulation off wires. This can cause a spark and lead to a house fire. So, while these ants aren't a medical concern and they don't directly threaten your belongings, they can harm both if a fire breaks out.

5. Why Acrobat Ants Are Attracted to Sweet Foods

While acrobat ants eat living and dead insects for protein, they can also be found eating the sweet honeydew produced by aphids and other plant-damaging insects. Why should you know this? When acrobat ants get into your home, they're going to get into meats and sweets. This broad diet helps them to survive quite nicely, even if you don't have termites, carpenter ants, wasps or some other insects they like to eat.

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