Black carpenter ant:- Forage up to 100 yards in search of food

Black carpenter ant:- Forage up to 100 yards in search of food

The black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) is a species of carpenter ant. It is the most common carpenter ant pest in the United States.

All castes of this species (including the major and minor workers, queens, and males) are black or blackish. Colonies have workers that are not all the same size (polymorphism). The antennae are elbowed, usually with 6-13 segments. Workers on average range from 1-2 cm long.

Black carpenter ants are known to forage up to 100 yards in search of food. Workers are most active at night, traveling from their nest to a food source following trails. They do establish chemical (pheromone) trails. The ants produce crackling sounds that can often be heard near a large nest. A large colony can have thousands of individuals. The black carpenter ant does not sting, but the larger workers can administer a sharp bite, which can become further irritated by the injection of formic acid, which they produce. Black carpenter ants are fiercely territorial with regard to other ants.

Worker ants cannot fly and live to solely to serve the one queen in a mature colony. Males have wings and do fly as do potential queens. Black carpenter ants do not eat or digest wood, but they tunnel through wood, which can cause structural damage. The queen ant produces eggs quickly and it takes little time for a small colony to grow into a massive one. A large colony will start expanding to smaller satellite colonies is space is limited.

Any wood in contact with the ground can be a source of entry, and water draining toward the structure will also encourage these ants. Sloping the surrounding ground away from the structure will remedy this method of entry. Leaks inside the house from plumbing or appliances can also create the moist conditions that encourage these species…. Source