Flying Stinging Ants

Winged Swarmer With Stinger

A few years ago, 2007 I believe, many Polk County residents were pestered by a stinging flying ant. I don’t think this insect has officially been given a common name, but the scientific name is probably Hypoponera punctatissima or a related species. This species is pretty common in many counties in Florida, but is seldom noticed or posed a problem for humans.  The Extension Service was first alerted by residents in the City of Auburndale about being attacked by flying stinging ants. Little League baseball games in northern Polk County had to be cancelled and the Juvenile Assessment Center in Bartow had to have outside activities cancelled just to name a few occurrences. Since 2007 no other complaints about this insect have been reported to the Polk County Extension Service. However, this last weekend I received an e-mail from a resident of Punta Gorda who had been stung by flying ants - probably the same species. So, we may see them again this year in Polk County.

This is one of the very few swarming ants in Florida which have stingers and can inflict a painful sting. They are very aggressive during mating flights and can work their way under human clothing and sting at will. The sting can lead to a painful welt. They are not specificaly attracted to people as are mosquitoes, yellow flies, etc., they are just looking for a new nesting site and people happen to get in the way. They normally nest in soil or under objects resting on the ground, like potted plants, bags of soil, and toys. They also will nest in trash piles, rotten wood, and grass tussocks.  They often are found in wet areas. The workers do not sing or bite as fire ants do. They hunt live insects for food.

There really aren't any control recommendations for this ant in the winged stage, unless you can find the colony where they are coming from.  Since they are just dispersing from their nest and are not attracted to people, repellents are not going to be very effective.  Their flight season is during warm, humid weather – the duration of the dispersal flight is not known. During 2007 in Polk County, the problem subsided after a week or two - maybe less.

 

Don’t confuse this ant with the elongate twig ant which is long and skinny and spends much of its time in trees. They commonly drop out of trees and land on people and can make their way under clothing. They have a ferocious bite something similar to fire ant bites. These are worker ants foraging for food – they do not have wings. The elongate twig ant winged swarmer’s do not sting.