Scientific Name: Camponotus spp.

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Formicidae

Identifying Characteristics:

• Carpenter ants have a lot of variations in color due to their speciation. The most common color is black, but coloration can include light to dark brown, red, and orange. Some ants exhibit bi-coloration of these color ranges.
• 12 Segmented Antennae, no club
• Variable size ranging from small to large (3mm-14mm)
• Head has noticeably large mandibles
• Monogyne species (Singular Queen)
• Polymorphic workers
• Circular ring of hairs around acidopore
• Coarse wood frass with pieces of dead worker ants mixed in found near structural nesting sites
• Carpenter ants produce sound as they excavate wood often described as a rustling or clicking sound

Introduction:

Carpenter ants, or Camponotus spp is the common name of 24 different species of ants that are variegated and distributed globally with well established native and invasive species in North America. The most common species are the black carpenter ant C. pennsylvanicus, the Florida carpenter ant C.floridanus and C. tortuganus, the western black carpenter ant, C.modoc, and C. vicinus. Another species C. variegattus is found on the Hawaiian islands introduced at the port of Honolulu from agricultural commerce with southeastern Asia. These ants get their name from their habit of carving out galleries in wood for nesting purposes. They can do significant structural damage when constructing their nest inside of homes.

Habitat:

Carpenter ants prefer to build their colonies in moist environments. They have a habit of excavating wood that has been softened by moisture damage or fungus to create their nesting sites. Outdoors, they’ll create colonies in tree stumps, wood piles, dead trees, large fallen limbs or unprotected lumber. Indoors, these ants will hollow out any wooden part of a structure that has water damaged wood. They prefer not to hollow nesting sites in undamaged wood. If Carpenter ants have infested a piece of wood, they will produce frass, which is often ejected out of small holes created in the wood by the ants. The frass will appear coarse and gritty consisting of pieces of excavated wood and body parts of dead carpenter ants.

Diet:

Carpenter ants are omnivorous and feed on variety of different types of food. Sweets, carbohydrates, proteins, as well as dead and living plants, or insects. These ants are nocturnal and often forage at night.

Control:

Hutchins Pest Specialist are trained to handle Carpenter ants and many other pest species. Contact us to get your evaluation and specialized treatment plan started today. Our Expert Technician’s can help you and your family enjoy a safe and pest-free home.

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