Mottled Odorous Ant

Dolichoderus plagiatus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

Also called: Mottled Dolichoderus

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Mottled Odorous Ant
Photo: Jonghyun Park, CC BY

The mottled odorous ant lives in North America. It occurs in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The mottled odorous ant lives in North America. It occurs in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 24 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Mottled Odorous Ant photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Mottled Odorous Ant photo 3
Photo: Jonghyun Park, CC BY
Mottled Odorous Ant photo 4
Photo: Antoine Guiguet, CC BY
Mottled Odorous Ant photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Questions people ask

Where are mottled odorous ants found?

They are found in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

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/Dolichoderus_plagiatus

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

Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.

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.