Diet

• Omnivorous, feeding primarily on honeydew produced by aphids, scale insects, and mealybugs.

• Also consume floral nectar, extrafloral nectar, pollen, fungi, dead insects, and other small arthropods.

• Workers readily scavenge sugary foods and are frequent visitors to fruit, sap flows, and human food sources.

Range

• The genus Brachymyrmex is distributed from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America.

• In Mexico, numerous species occur on both the Pacific and Gulf slopes, including Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

• Found from sea level to over 2,500 m (8,200 ft), depending on the species.

Habitat

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, pine-oak forests, grasslands, mangroves, agricultural land, gardens, and urban areas.

• Nests in soil, leaf litter, beneath stones, under loose bark, inside rotting logs, and occasionally within buildings.

• Colonies are often associated with plants hosting honeydew-producing insects.

Size

• Worker length: 1–3 mm (0.04–0.12 in)

• Queen length: 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in)

• Colonies typically contain several hundred to several thousand workers, although some species form much larger colonies.