Flower Ant

Monomorium floricola · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

Also called: Bicolored Trailing Ant, Bicoloured Trailing Ant, Floral Ant

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Flower Ant
Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY-SA

The bicolored trailing ant, also called the flower ant, belongs to the Myrmicinae subfamily. It is an invasive species that occurs worldwide.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The flower ant (Monomorium floricola) is a bicolored trailing ant in the Myrmicinae subfamily.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

This ant is a widespread invasive species found all over the world.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 6 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona.

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

Source: GBIF

Status: introduced in North America; introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Flower Ant photo 3
Photo: Franz Anthony, CC BY
Flower Ant photo 4
Photo: portioid, CC BY
Flower Ant photo 5
Photo: Even Dankowicz, CC BY
Flower Ant photo 6
Photo: unknown, CC0

Questions people ask

Where is the flower ant found?

It is found all over the world as an invasive species.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Formicidae)

Eastern Black Carpenter AntEastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your homeRed 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/Monomorium_floricola

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

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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.