My husband says that ants keep “dropping out of trees” and stinging him. (He’s never actually seen one fall out of a tree; he just assumes that’s where they’re coming from, because he is working under trees, and they sting his upper body.) Based on the behavior, I was expecting some kind of twig ant (Pseudomyrmex), but when he finally caught one that I was able to examine, I’m not so sure.

While it does look somewhat elongated compared to other ants, it’s fairly small (5–6 mm). To my untrained eye, there are some anatomical differences between this specimen and the Pseudomyrmex I see on BugGuide. For example, her eyes are small, and there is a high ridge on the petiole just before her abdomen (lateral view).

I’ve included several different angles, because I’m not sure which features are most important. Feel free to frass any unnecessary photos once this ant has been identified.