Bug card No. 1471 of 1,500
Winter ant
Prenolepis imparis
The winter ant is a small ant that loves the cold. While most ants hide in winter, it comes out when it is near freezing. In the hot summer it stays deep underground and rests.
Lives in
North America, from Canada to Mexico, in nests deep in the ground
What does it eat?
It collects sweet liquids and small bits of food, and carries them back to its nest.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Winter ant about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is only busy outside in winter and early spring.
2
It digs its nest very deep in the ground.
3
To defend itself against other ants, it squirts out a milky white liquid that can stop them in their tracks.
you asked
Most asked questions about Winter ant
?Why is it called the winter ant?
Because it is active outside in winter and early spring, when most other ants are hiding.
?Where does the winter ant live?
In North America, from Canada to Mexico, in deep nests in the ground.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Prenolepis imparis
- Group
- Ants
- Family
- Formicidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Formicidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- False honey ant, False honeypot ant
Where the facts come from
- Prenolepis imparis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by AntWeb.org. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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