PREHISTORIC ANTS

Carpenter Ants

by Dr. Carolyn Pararas-Carayannis

Class: Insecta Order: Hymenoptera Family: Formicidae Genus: Camponotus

Most species of ants live outdoors but sometimes they find a way to get into your home. One common, "culprit" species which does this is the Carpenter ant, often referred to as the "wood ant" because they tunnel through moist or decaying wood, inside or out, to create passageways and galleries for nesting. Contrary to general belief they do not eat wood, however, their tunnel and gallery excavations can result in major structural damage. Alternative nest locations, indoors - other than wood, include structural voids (ie. inside door hollows, in wall hollow behind panneling etc.), and foam insulation.

Once Carpenter ants establish their nest, they reproduce with vigor. It dosen't take long for a home to become infested. Although there is only one queen to a colony, many viable eggs are deposited by her each day; and the complete metamorphic development of her brood, from egg to adult, takes only about a mere 60 days (egg - larvae - pupae - adult).

During the first year the colony remains small. Soon after it begins to grow rapidly, reaching 2,000 - 3,000 individuals within three to six years, producing 200 to 400 winged reproductives a year. In ten years, depending upon the species, colony numbers can reach as high as 5,000 and 100,000 individuals.

As a colony matures, it is not uncommon for workers to establish multiple, satellite nests located within the same locale (if outdoors) or within the same building (if indoors). When satellite nests are created, major relocations of castes occur and individuals are moved accordingly. The main nesting colony is then reserved for the colony queen, eggs, new larvae and workers. While the satellite nests house the older larvae, pupae, winged males and winged females (also called "swarmers"- potential queens prior to their nuptial flight). Often, the main nesting colony might be located just outside of a structure, while all the satellite nests are established within the structure.

Black Carpenter Ant (C. pennsylvanicus)

Photo: Alex Wild/myrmecos.net.....

Carpenter ants belong to genus Camponotus, the largest genus of ants under the family Formicidae. Genus Camponotus contains 600 species, 43 of which are found in North America (MidAtlanticIPM, 2007)

Across species, mature adult workers can be red, black or brown, however, variations of these colors are not uncommon. Note the Black Carpenter ant (species: C. pennsylvanicus), in photo to the left. It is a classic example of the Black Carpenter ant (species: C. pennsylvanicus), which inhabits the eastern United States. Observe its overall dull black color with lighter, yellow/brown hairs on its gaster, its rounded, smooth convex throax, narrow waist (petiole) and the one, small nodal pertrusion just anterior to its gaster. There is no posterior "stinger". Examine the antennae. Note their shape. Each exhibits a characteristic "elbow" bend and absent "bulbs or clubbing" at the ends. Close scrutiny of the distal portion of its legs reveals they are a dark reddish in color. Although this specie of ant is unequipped to sting, they can and will bite if threatened. They use their strong, sharp mandibles (used for excavating wood) to grab their victim while they spray formic acid directly into the wound, from a gland located at the end of their abdomen. In humans, this causes a "sting" sensation in addition to pain from the bite.

Overall, Carpenters are one of the largest species of ant within the family Formacidae. But although some winged queens have measured as large as 1" (Hahn, Cannon & Ascerno, 2002), size varies across and within the species, and therefore is not a good indicator for identification. Demonstrating this are workers of the Black Carpenter ant (species: C. pennsylvanicus), which range in size from 1/4" to 1/2" within the same colony; and the workers of the New York Carpenter ant (species: C. novaboracensi) which range in size from 3/16" to 3/8" within their same colony. This caste size variation is called polymorphism and is further defined below.

How to Identify of Carpenter Ants

Major anatominical indicators single out Carpenter ants from other large ant species. These can be seen clearly in the photo above and fig.1 at left.

1. The top of the thorax is evenly rounded, convex and bears no spines.

2. The attachment between the thorax and abdomen (petiole) forms a "waist" with one pertruding node.

3. Individuals are polymorphic - that is to say there are size variations among individuals of the same caste within the colony. For example, there are major classification of worker ants in a Carpenter nest - minor workers, intermediate workers and major workers - and each class within this cast have different body sizes.

4. No ending "bulb" or "club" on their antennae.

5. Antennae exhibit 12 segments.

6. Hairs are present on gaster. There is no posterior stinger.

What Carpenter Ants Like & How They Live

Nesting Sites.

As mentioned earlier, whether indoors or outdoors, Carpenters like to nest in moist or decaying wood. Eggs are environmentally sensitive and require 12%-15% humidity within their incubating galleries for proper development. This is why all primary nests are established within moist or decaying matter. Satellite nests, however, do not house eggs and thus have no stringent humidity requirement. Their locations are more diverse, as we shall see.

because eggs are always housed within the primary nest.

Outdoors Carpenters favor rotting trees, tree stumps, disintegrating tree roots, damp fire wood piles, hollow fence posts, damp porches and roofs or any moist areas previously excavated by other insects, such as termites.

Indoors, Carpenters look again for moist areas for their primary nest since eggs, which require humidity to

Indoor Infestations

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Additionally, size also varies aross species.

individuals within a single colony and between vary.

can exhibit, on occasion, of these colors and black with yellow-brown hues.

winged queens Carpenters are one of the most challenging and difficult species to erradicate by the home owner given their life cycle, concealment within wall voids, ceilings, subfloors, attics, and/or hollow door spaces, as well as their tolerence to store bought ant traps and insecticides.

are the most common and they can be very annoying. Since they reproduce quickly your home may soon become infested by them. They are mainly black in color and seem to be very tolerant of ant traps and poisons that people put out to kill them.

Some of various species have wings on them as well so they can be misidentified as other types of insects. They are often mistaken for termites because the can be found in the wood of your home. They also like moist areas so they tend to be in the kitchen and the bathrooms.

In order to get rid of carpenter ants, you will need to find out where their nests are. With hundreds of eggs being laid each day by the queen ants, you don’t want
to wait to get started. You may want to try to get rid of them on your own. You can leave out food for the and then follow their trail back to the colony. Dabs of honey that are left out will definitely attract their attention.

Boric acid is one of the most effective ways to kill them. Track them back to the wood, walls, and other places in your home that they are located at. There may be several colonies around so don’t stop your efforts when you come across one of them. If you are having a hard time locating the carpenter or your efforts with boric acid failed you will need to call a professional exterminator.

You can help prevent carpenter from getting into your home by taking care of leaks right away. Remove dead wood from your yard too as this can be where the carpenter start out. Don’t store wood for the fireplace too close to your home. It may be more convenient but you don’t want to be dealing with carpenter ants. They can move from there into your home in very little time. They often do this through cracks or where wires run into your home. Seal these areas up as much as you can.

Photos courtesy of Alex Wild/myrmecos.net