Bug FAQAfrican stink ant
Paltothyreus tarsatus · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae
Also called: Giant stink ant, African Stink Ants
Workers are large, about 17 to 20 mm, and queens are slightly bigger and winged. The species builds shallow nests that can hold up to 5 000 workers and cover a wide area. It is found across Sub-Saharan Africa and preys on animals such as beetles, while sometimes sharing its nest with the frog Phrynomantis microps.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
African stink ant belongs to a monotypic genus in the subfamily Ponerinae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Workers measure 17 to 20 mm; queens are about 23 mm and have wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They construct shallow nests that spread over a large home range. A single nest may contain as many as 5 000 workers, a number few ant species match.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
These ants are predators that can take prey as large as beetles, and the frog Phrynomantis microps sometimes uses their nests as burrows.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is widely distributed throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Same family (Formicidae)
Eastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your home
Red Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan sting
American Winter AntPrenolepis imparis
Argentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerous
Immigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan sting
Odorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your homeSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paltothyreus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.