Carpenter ant
| Carpenter ant Temporal range: Eocene – Recent | |
|---|---|
| Camponotus sp. (worker) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Camponotini |
| Genus: | Camponotus Mayr, 1861 |
| Type species | |
| Formica ligniperda Latreille, 1802 | |
| Diversity | |
| > 1,000 species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) are large ants (workers 7 to 13 mm or 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 in) indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
They build nests inside wood, consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, damp wood. However, unlike termites, they do not consume wood, but instead discard a material that resembles sawdust outside their nest. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of trees. They also commonly infest wooden buildings and structures, causing a widespread problem: they are a major cause of structural damage. Nevertheless, their ability to excavate wood helps in forest decomposition. The genus includes over 1,000 species. They also farm aphids. In their farming, the ants protect the aphids from predators (usually other insects) while they excrete a sugary fluid called honeydew, which the ants get by stroking the aphids with their antennae.