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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets (Vespoidea) » Ants (Formicidae) » Formicinae » Carpenter Ants (Camponotus)

Genus Camponotus - Carpenter Ants

Classification · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

1111823 - Camponotus pennsylvanicus - female

black carpenter ant with prey - Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Their majesties - queen ants emerge, with a

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)

No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)

Superfamily Vespoidea (Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets)

Family Formicidae (Ants)

Subfamily Formicinae

Genus Camponotus (Carpenter Ants)

Numbers

Nearctica.com lists 51 spp.

Size

6-20 mm, depending on caste

Identification

Large ants; some build galleries in wood.

Range

North America

Habitat

Deciduous forests, also suburban areas

Season

All year.

Food

Omnivorous, eat honeydew, sap, living and dead insects, etc. Do not eat wood, only nest in it.

Life Cycle

A eusocial insect with a complex life cycle. See Internet references

Remarks

Camponotus species are often called "carpenter ants" because many species nest in dry or moist rotten wood, and some may nest in wooden houses, sheds, etc. However, in the East, C. americanus and C. castaneus nest in soil, and in the West, perhaps the majority of species (but usually not those in the subgenera Camponotus and Myrmentoma) nest in soil. [from comment by James C. Trager here.]

Print References

Borror and White, p. 345 (1)

Milne, pp. 823-824, figs. 310, 318 (2)

Arnett, p. 586, fig. 25.45, 47, 48 (3)

Swann and Papp, p. 561, figs. 1215-1216 (4)

Arnett and Jacques, #281 (5)

Internet References

Ohio State University--fact sheet, very detailed life history

Univ. Nebraska: fact sheet,

Ant colony

TAMU

U. of Florida

UNC Catalog of Ants of North America

Works Cited

1.	A Field Guide to Insects By Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson

2.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders By Lorus and Margery Milne

3.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico By Ross H. Arnett

4.	The Common Insects of North America By Lester A. Swan, Charles S. Papp

5.	Simon & Schuster's Guide to Insects By Dr. Ross H. Arnett, Dr. Richard L. Jacques

Contributed by Cotinis on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Vox Sciurorum, ceiseman
Last updated 16 January, 2010 - 9:48am

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