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Camponotus pennsylvanicus

(Black Carpenter Ant)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Black Carpenter Ant

Common Names in French:

Fourmi Noire Gāte-Bois

Description

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Physical Description

Species Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Carpenter ants do not actually eat or digest wood , as do the termites, but they can weaken structures by tunneling inside the wooden studs or joists. Their tunnels and galleries are most often found in moist or rotten wood, generally in the vicinity of a leaking water pipe, or roof leak, but can also be found in perfectly dry wood. Small piles of sawdust-like material can sometimes be seen nearby, where the ants have pushed the chewed wood particles outside the nest . A qualified pest control agency can usually diagnose an infestation by careful observation, including listening for the ants' tunneling and communication noises with a stethoscope. The ants produce a crackling, rustling sound like the crinkling of cellophane, especially if the colony has been disturbed . Cats are frequently able to hear these noises!

Careful note should be made, also, of the number and frequency of sighting the workers. Many times, carpenter ant strays may come indoors while hunting for food, or might be spotted outside an unaffected dwelling. Workers are known to forage for food as far as 100 yards from their nest. Workers are most active at night (midnight), traveling from their nest to a food source following trails but no particular trail leading directly to the nest. They do establish chemical (pheromone ) trails.

Size/Age/Growth

Black carpenter ants are probably the largest ants most people in the continental United States ever see. The major workers (sterile females) range upwards of 1/2 inch long, quite a sight, indeed, especially if one suspects a dwelling may be infested. The winged queens, usually only seen when the colony is swarming, can be nearly 1 inch long.

Habitat

Ecology: Carpenter ants may establish nests in a number of different locations. It is important to realize that these locations can be either inside or outside the structure. Carpenter ants actually construct two different kinds of nests: parent colonies which, when mature , contain an egg-laying queen, brood and 2000 or more worker ants, and satellite colonies which may have large numbers of worker ants but no queen, eggs or young larvae. The carpenter ants inside a home may have originated from the parent colony or from one or more satellite nests. For example, the ants may be coming from the parent nest located outdoors in a tree stump , landscape timber or woodpile, or from one or more satellite nests hidden behind a wall in the kitchen or bathroom, or perhaps from wood dampened by a roof leak in the attic.

The extent and potential damage to a home depends on how many nests are actually present within the structure, and how long the infestation has been active . Although large carpenter ant colonies are capable of causing structural damage, the damage is not normally as serious as that from termites. In some cases, the damage may be relatively insignificant, but this can only be determined by locating and exposing the nest areaMany times, it will be impossible for the homeowner to locate and / or destroy carpenter ant colonies on their property or inside their homes. Pest control companies (what we used to call "exterminators" in a simpler time) take different approaches to eliminating the problem. Some companies expend great energy locating specific nesting sites, and treating only that area. Others take more of a shotgun approach, drilling into walls at various locations and injecting insecticides in hopes of catching any possible nests that may be otherwise missed.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 13-Mar-2001.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Camponotus

There are approximately 1885 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

C. (C.) · C. (C.) quercicola · C. (Colobopsis) truncatus · C. (Myrmentoma) · C. (Myrmobrachys) · C. (Pseudocolobopsis) · C. (Tanaemyrmex) castaneus · C. abditus · C. atriceps · C. abdominalis stercorarius · C. abjectus · C. abrahami · C. abscisus · C. absquatulator · C. abunanus · C. acutirostris · C. acvapimensis · C. adami · C. adenensis · C. aegyptiacus · C. aeneopilosus · C. aeneopilosus aeneopilosus · C. aeneopilosus flavidopubescens · C. aequatorialis · C. aequatorialis aequatorialis · C. aequatorialis kohli · C. aequitas · C. aethiops · C. aethiops aethiops · C. aethiops cachmiriensis · C. aethiops var. concava Dalla Torre, 1893 · C. aethiops escherichi · C. aethiops var. glaber Emery, 1925 · C. aethiops rubicolor · C. aethiops vitiosus · C. afflatus · C. ager · C. agonius · C. aguilerai · C. alacer · C. albicoxis · C. albipes · C. albistramineus · C. alboannulatus · C. alboannulatus alboannulatus · C. alboannulatus montanus · C. alboannulatus nessus · C. albocinctus · C. albosparsus · C. alii · C. alii alii · C. alii auresi · C. alii concolor · C. alii hoggarensis · C. alii laurenti · C. altivagans · C. amamianus · C. amaurus · C. americanus · C. amoris · C. amphidus · C. andrei · C. andrei andrei · C. andrei cholericus · C. andrewsi · C. andrius · C. anguliceps · C. angusticeps · C. angusticollis · C. angusticollis angusticollis · C. angusticollis sanguinolentus · C. anningensis · C. annulatus · C. anthrax · C. apicalis · C. apostolus · C. arabicus · C. arboreus · C. arcuatus · C. arcuatus aesopus · C. arcuatus arcuatus · C. arenatus · C. argus · C. arminius · C. arminius arminius · C. arminius bicontractus · C. armstrongi · C. arnoldinus · C. arrogans · C. aruensis · C. asli · C. ater · C. atlantis · C. atlantis atlantis · C. atlantis atrioris · C. atlantis hesperius · C. atlantis marocanus · C. atlantis nigrovarius · C. atlantis planitae · C. atriceps (Florida Carpenter Ant)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 01, 2008:

Identifiers

Last Revised: 2009-05-07