Yellow-footed Ant

Nylanderia flavipes

Like other 'crazy ants', they run in erratic, jerky loops instead of straight lines when searching for food or when alarmed.

Scientific name: Nylanderia flavipes
Taxonomy: Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Hymenoptera › Formicidae › Nylanderia
IUCN Red List status: Least Concern
Population trend: stable
Biome: forest
Habitat: Deciduous and mixed forests, nesting in leaf litter, rotting logs, and under stones.
Diet: Omnivorous, feeding on honeydew from aphids, dead insects, nectar, and plant sap.
Range: Japan, China, Korean Peninsula, United States
Size: Workers are 2.0 to 2.5 mm; queens are larger, around 4.5 to 5.0 mm.
Lifespan: Workers live 6 to 12 months; queens can live up to several years.
Active: diurnal
Threats: Habitat fragmentation, heavy pesticide use in urban-adjacent forests, and competition with larger invasive ant species.
Safe to approach?: Harmless. Yellow-footed ants are entirely safe to observe closely. They do not possess a functional sting. If they crawl on you, simply brush them off gently. No medical action is needed.

Photo: Jonghyun Park, CC-BY, via iNaturalist