Odorous House Ant

Order/family: Hymenoptera/Formicidae

Scientific Name: Tapinoma sessile 

Description: Odorous house ant workers are 1/16 to 1/8 inch long and they are brown or black. The thorax has no spines and the petiole has one segment which when viewed from above, is hidden by the rest of the abdomen. There is a slit at the tip of the abdomen instead of a circle of hairs. The easiest identifying characteristic is the “rancid butter” or “coconut” smell when the ants are crushed, hence their name.