Northern Fungus-farming Ant

Trachymyrmex septentrionalis · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Northern Fungus-farming Ant
Photo: Raven Dandridge, CC BY

Trachymyrmex septentrionalis is an ant in the Myrmicinae subfamily and is the northernmost fungus-growing ant in the tribe Attini. Records from Durango, Mexico likely belong to the similar species Trachymyrmex carinatus, not this ant.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Trachymyrmex septentrionalis belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It nests in sandy soils.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

It is the northernmost member of the fungus-growing ant tribe Attini.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is common throughout the eastern United States. Mexican records likely refer to the similar Trachymyrmex carinatus.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Specimens reported from Durango, Mexico probably belong to the very similar Trachymyrmex carinatus.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia.

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

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Northern Fungus-farming Ant photo 3
Photo: skitterbug, CC BY
Northern Fungus-farming Ant photo 4
Photo: Raven Dandridge, CC BY
Northern Fungus-farming Ant photo 5
Photo: unknown, CC0
Northern Fungus-farming Ant photo 6
Photo: unknown, CC0

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/Trachymyrmex_septentrionalis

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.