How to Identify a Queen Ant

Co-authored by Shweta Sharma

Last Updated: March 8, 2023 Approved

When a house is overrun by ants, it means that an ant colony has been established in or around the location of the house. Ant colonies cannot survive without a queen ant, as the queen ant is the individual that is responsible for reproduction. To address the root of the problem, you'll need to identify the queen ant by looking for her large size, wings (or wing attachment points), bulky thorax, and central placement within the colony.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Checking an Ant's Appearance

1
Look at the size of the ant. For many types of ants, queens are much larger than regular worker ants. If you stumble upon an ant that appears unusually large, there's a good chance this is the queen.
- The ant will be noticeably bigger than the surrounding ants, or other ants you have seen.
- Think about the type of ants you have as well. With leaf-cutter ants, the queen is particularly likely to be bigger than the worker ants. However, with fire ants and carpenter ants, workers themselves come in many different sizes.^{[1]
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  Research source} This may make it difficult to differentiate between the queen and worker ants based on size alone.
2
See if there are wings on the ant. In many ant colonies, the queen is born with wings. During many parts of a queen's adult life, she will need to fly to find a new colony for mating. An ant with wings may very well be the queen ant.^{[2]
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- Some male ants do have wings, but they tend to be slightly less noticeable. The types of male ants that have wings will generally look more slender and wasp like than a queen, who will generally be larger.
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3
Look for signs the ant has shed its wings. Queens do shed their wings at a certain point in their lifespan. If you lean down and look at the central portion of the ant's body, you may see small bumps jutting from either side of the ant's body. These are wing attachment points, a sign that the ant once had wings. As queens shed their wings, wing attachment points are a good sign you've found the queen.^{[3]
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4
Examine the thorax. The thorax is the part of an ant's body that bridges the neck and abdomen. Queen ants will generally have a larger, bulkier thorax than worker ants.
- As a queen's thorax once supported wings, it will be much bulkier and more muscular than a worker ant's body.
- A queen's thorax makes up more than half its body size. This is much larger than the thorax of a regular ant.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Considering Other Factors

1
Think about the area where you found the ant. If you're unsure how to identify the queen by appearance alone, consider where you found the ant. Queens tend to be found at the center of an ant's nest. Queens tend to prefer moist areas, commonly found in rotting wood. If you found an ant hiding in a damp area of your home or outside, especially in damp wood, this is more likely to be a queen.^{[4]
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2
Consider if you have army ants. The vast majority of ant types have larger queens, with bigger thoraxes, who are easily differentiated from worker ants. However, army ants are an exception. Army ants have queens with smaller thoraxes, who look very similar to the ants in this type of ant colony. It may be difficult,to identify the queen when working with these kinds of ants.^{[5]
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Research source} Army ants are more oval-shaped in appearance than regular ants. They have antennas on their heads, as well as mouth pieces shaped like scissors.^{[6]
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3
Consult a specialist. If you cannot find the queen, consult a professional exterminator. Ants can be a real problem in your home. If you're unable to discover the queen on your own, or identify the types of ants, look in your yellow pages for an exterminator.
4
See if the other ants do things for the one you suspect is a queen. They might carry things to her or take orders from her.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do I find the queen ant?

Shweta Sharma
Biologist
Shweta Sharma is a Biologist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With nearly ten years of experience, she specializes in insect management, integrated pest management, insect behavior, resistance management, ecology, and biological control. She earned her PhD in Urban Entomology and her MS in Environmental Horticulture from the University of Florida. She also holds a BS in Agriculture from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Nepal.

Shweta Sharma

Biologist

Expert Answer

Queens are mostly inside the nest, so they might be visible compared to the worker ants that are out and about foraging.
Question

Is there more than 1 queen in a colony?

Community Answer

Army ants generally have a lot of breeding females, which some would call the queen. Usually, there is one queen in each colony.
Question

I put boiling water and then ant poison into the ant nest which is just outside my house. I have done this several times over the last month or so but today I found what appears to be wingless female ant roaming around outside the nest. Does this mean the nest is dying?

Jaundre JvR

Community Answer

That sounds like the queens are busy with the nuptial flights, if they have lost their wings it is most likely that they have mated with males and are ready to start a new colony. It does not mean that the nest is dying.