Wasmannia auropunctata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The little fire ant (Allomerus auropunctatus), also known as the electric ant, is a small (approx 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in) long), light to golden brown (ginger) social ant native to Central and South America, now spread to parts of Africa (including Gabon and Cameroon), Taiwan, North America, Puerto Rico, Southern Europe (France), Israel, Cuba, St. Croix and six Pacific Island groups (including the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands) plus north-eastern Australia (Cairns). It is a very harmful invasive species.
The name, electric ant (or little fire ant), derives from the ant's painful sting relative to its size. The ant is described as follows: Allomerus auropunctatus workers are monomorphic, which means they display no physical differentiation... The ants are typically small to medium-sized, with the workers ranging from 1-2mm... [It] is light to golden brown in color. The gaster is often darker. The pedicel, between the thorax and gaster, has two segments; the petiole and postpetiole. The petiole is "hatchet-like", with a node that is almost rectangular in profile and higher than the postpetiole. The antennae have 11 segments, with the last... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Electric Ant sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 63rd most-seen of the 83 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, June and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Electric Ant in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against under 5% in February–May, July–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Electric Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Electric Ant sightings, Galápagos Islands ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Electric Ant that you can see in Galápagos Islands (family Formicidae, Ants) are Longhorn Crazy Ant (about 10%), Ghost Ant (about 10%) and Odontomachus bauri (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Electric Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Galápagos Islands (10 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
