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Black carpenter ant
Camponotus pennsylvanicus worker
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Genus:	Camponotus
Species:	C. pennsylvanicus
Binomial name
Camponotus pennsylvanicus (De Geer, 1773)

The black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is one of the largest and most common species of carpenter ant native to the central and eastern United States as well as eastern Canada.

Behavior

Black carpenter ants are known to forage up to 100 yd (91 m) in search of food, establishing chemical (pheromone) trails as they forage. Nests can contain thousands of individuals, and such large nests may be noticed by the audible cracking sound the workers produce. The black carpenter ant cannot sting, but the larger workers can administer a sharp bite, which can become further irritated by the spraying of formic acid onto the wound. Workers tend aphids, with the smaller workers collecting honeydew and transferring it to larger workers that carry it back to the nest. In addition, foragers feed on dead insects and plant juices.

Range

The black carpenter ants range is almost everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains in woodlands, forest edges, and suburban communities.

Control measures

In their natural environment, carpenter ants nest in dead trees and other dead wood. This enhances decay, which has ecological benefits. However, the ant achieves pest status when a colony invades the wood of a house or other structure, damaging its structural integrity.

Since they favor moist wood as a habitat, any condition that promotes moisture should be eliminated to prevent infestation. The easiest of these is keeping gutters clear so water does not run down the side of the structure or gain entry. Moist wood is much easier to chew. The ants do not eat the wood, but remove it to create galleries for their activities. The galleries run parallel to the grain, as they are created in the softer, non-aligning portions of the timber. The galleries have a sandpaper-like feel, due to fecal remnants, but the mud tubes produced by termites will not be present.

References

1. "Camponotus pennsylvanicus - AntCat". antcat.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
2. BUCZKOWSKI, GRZEGORZ (2010-11-15). "Suburban sprawl: environmental features affect colony social and spatial structure in the black carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus". Ecological Entomology. 36 (1): 62–71. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2010.01245.x. ISSN 0307-6946.
3. Sanders, C. J. (November 1972). "Seasonal and Daily Activity Patterns of Carpenter Ants (Camponotus SPP.) in Northwestern Ontario (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". The Canadian Entomologist. 104 (11): 1681–1687. doi:10.4039/ent1041681-11. ISSN 0008-347X.
4. "Black Carpenter Ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus". NWF The National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
5. Carpenter Ant Management

External links

• Media related to Camponotus pennsylvanicus at Wikimedia Commons

• Camponotus
• Household pest insects
• Insects described in 1773
• Insects of the United States
• Insects of Canada