Argentine ant

American

noun

a small brown ant, Iridomyrmex humilis, introduced into the southern U.S. from South America: a household and fruit pest.

Etymology

Origin of Argentine ant

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At first it might be hard to distinguish the red imported fire ant from the sugar-loving Argentine ant, but a key distinction is the red imported fire ants’ aggressive nature.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2024

Despite what the stream of ants in your back yard might indicate, the Argentine ant is not the only species in town.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2017

There is a single Argentine ant colony, a megacolony, that stretches 560 miles up the California coast.

From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2015

The Argentine ant has been observed running what appears to be a world government: a global "mega-colony" that spans America, Europe, and Japan.

From The Verge • Oct. 4, 2015

The Argentine ant has been brought to us from South America and is proving a most destructive pest.

From Conservation Reader by Fairbanks, Harold W. (Harold Wellman)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023