Tetramorium Caespitum are commonly know as the pavement ant.  They are native to Europe, and were introduced into North America, most commonly found in eastern and southern states.  As the name would suggest, these ants like to nest under pavements, stones and even in the crevices of building structures.

Ideally these ants enjoy a temperature ranging from between 10 and 40 degrees Celsius, my own are kept at about 30.

They tend to be between 2 and 4mm in length with the queen being about 8mm.  They are very dark brown in colour, nearly black.  These ants can be noted for having a pair of small spines on the upper part of their thorax.  They also have a sting.

Colonys can grow to 10,000 strong as this ant is polymorphic meaning their can be more than one queen in a nest. This is also backed up by the fact that individual workers can live anywhere up to 5 years old, and are extremely adaptable to environmental changes.

One thing that is noted about this ant is that it is an extremely aggressive species both towards intruders into its nest, and to other ant species.  They will quite readily fight other colonies and at times, huge battles can be seen at nest sites.

These ants are scavengers, and will eat anything, but like sugary foods the most.  They also act alot like harvester ants at times by storing seeds and grains in their nests for leaner times. TC's have also evolved a mutually beneficial relationship with a species of caterpillar which enables the ants to drink nectar produced by the caterpillar in return for protection.