The Carpenter Ant
By Richard Bartz, Munich Makro Freak – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5,
Carpenter ants (Camponotus sp.) are mainly found in forests and are known to build nests inside the wood. They do not eat wood – they only carve it out of their way as they make a nest. Carpenter ants are common household pests that can wreck furniture and other wooden items. The Black carpenter ant is the most well-known species of carpenter ant in the US. The genus they belong to has over 1000 species scattered across the world.
HOW TO IDENTIFY CARPENTER ANTS
- There are one of the largest ants found in the US
- Body length can be from 3.4mm to 13mm
- Most of them are black in colour
- Large, black dot-like eyes
- Some species are reddish brown or yellowish in colour
- Many of them have both red and black colouration
- They have a rounded thorax
- Presence of large mandibles
Appearance, Behavior, and Signs of Carpenter Ants
- They build their nests in damp, decaying, rotting wood
- Hollows of trees, tree stumps and tree branches are commonly seen sites of carpenter ant nests
- They dig out tunnels in the wood to establish their nest, and so are often compared to termites (even though they do not eat wood)
- Worker carpenters are the ones usually sighted, as they are the ones who forage for food
- Swarmer ants are the ones that possess wings
- A rustling sound can be heard near a carpenter ant nest – this is the sound of them making their way through the wood. They make ‘galleries’ in the wood that act as pathways for their passage
- They are both predators and scavengers. They like the sweet honeydew produced by aphids, and also feed on sugary liquids and extrafloral nectar
- Carpenter ants are most active at night
- They prefer laying eggs in humid environments
- Signs that you have a carpenter ant infestation would include wood shavings, sighting of the ants and rustling sound near wooden items
