Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant

Pheidole obtusospinosa · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant
Photo: Jake Nitta, CC BY

The blunt-spined big-headed ant is a species of ant in the higher myrmicine group. It belongs to the family Formicidae.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Pheidole obtusospinosa is a higher-myrmicine ant in the family Formicidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 3 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant photo 2
Photo: Jonghyun Park, CC BY
Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant photo 3
Photo: Jake Nitta, CC BY
Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant photo 4
Photo: Jonghyun Park, CC BY
Blunt-spined Big-headed Ant photo 5
Photo: Emmett Collins-Sussman, CC BY

Same family (Formicidae)

Eastern Black Carpenter AntEastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan biteRed Imported Fire AntRed Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan stingAmerican Winter AntAmerican Winter AntPrenolepis imparisArgentine AntArgentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerousImmigrant Pavement AntImmigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan stingOdorous House AntOdorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your home

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheidole_obtusospinosa

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.