[1] It is a pest species in urban areas, known for causing costly damage to structures, vehicles, and electronic devices with its chewing activity.

[1] Today it can be found in tropical regions worldwide, and it can live in urban environments in temperate climates.

[7] Considering its close resemblance to African Monomorium species and its apparently continuous distribution from North Africa to Southeast Asia, its native range may include southern Asia and the Middle East, and it may have originated in North Africa.

[3] The queen ant is between 3 and 4 millimeters (0.12 and 0.16 inches) long and tawny in color with a brown abdomen.

In trials of baits, the ant was most attracted to soybean oil and white bread, and clearly preferred peanut butter over honey.

A researcher describing a laboratory infestation in 1922 reported that the ants killed a number of caged lab rats and attacked the resident scientists, "biting out small pieces of skin" and delivering enough bites to one man to knock him unconscious for a short time.

[5] Residents of Cape Verde call it the "ninja ant" because of the species' silent aggression toward humans.

[5] In 2005, a man unknowingly brought the ant home to New Zealand from Fiji, where he had purchased an iPod.

It most often invades urban areas and it is not generally a dominant or competitive species in ant communities.