Small pugnacious ant

Anoplolepis steingroeveri · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Small pugnacious ant
Photo: Chris Vynbos, CC BY-SA

The small pugnacious ant (Anoplolepis steingroeveri) looks like the darker form of the common pugnacious ant but lacks the chequer-board pattern on its gaster. It is native to southern Africa, occurring in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Workers resemble darker morphs of Anoplolepis custodiens but do not show the reflective chequer-board pattern on the abdomen.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is native to southern Africa, found in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It can be confused with the common pugnacious ant (Anoplolepis custodiens); the latter has a distinctive chequer-board pattern on its gaster caused by differently oriented hairs.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Small pugnacious ant photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Small pugnacious ant photo 3
Photo: Tony Rebelo, CC BY-SA
Small pugnacious ant photo 4
Photo: Justin Ponder, CC BY
Small pugnacious ant photo 5
Photo: Nicola van Berkel, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

How can I tell Anoplolepis steingroeveri apart from similar ants?

Look for the absence of the chequer-board pattern on the gaster; the similar common pugnacious ant shows that pattern due to reflective hairs.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Formicidae)

Eastern Black Carpenter AntEastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your homeRed Imported Fire AntRed Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan stingAmerican Winter AntAmerican Winter AntPrenolepis imparisArgentine AntArgentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerousImmigrant Pavement AntImmigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan stingOdorous House AntOdorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your home

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoplolepis_steingroeveri

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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