ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...
s
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
to many forested parts of the world.
They build nests inside
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, damp wood. However, unlike
termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
s, they do not consume wood, discarding a material that resembles sawdust outside their nest. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of trees. They also commonly infest wooden buildings and structures, and are a widespread problem and 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
aphid
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...
s. 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.
Description
''Camponotus'' are generally large ants, with workers being 4-7 mm long in small species or 7-13 mm in large species, queens being 9-20 mm long and males being 5-13 mm long. The bases of the antennae are separated from the clypeal border by a distance of at least the antennal scape's maximum diameter. The
mesosoma
The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings.
In hymenopterans of t ...
in profile usually forms a continuous curve from the
pronotum
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...
through to the
propodeum
The propodeum or propodium is the first abdominal segment in Apocrita Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants). It is fused with the thorax to form the mesosoma. It is a single large sclerite
A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning " hard") is a hardened bod ...
.
Habitat
Carpenter ant species reside both outdoors and indoors in moist, decaying, or hollow wood, most commonly in forest environments. They cut "galleries" into the wood grain to provide passageways to allow for movement between different sections of the nest. Certain parts of a house, such as around and under windows, roof eaves, decks and porches, are more likely to be infested by carpenter ants because these areas are most vulnerable to moisture.
Carpenter ants have been known to construct extensive underground tunneling systems. These systems often lead to an end at some food source – often aphid colonies, where the ants extract and feed on honeydew. These tunneling systems also often exist in trees. The colonies typically include a central "parent" colony surrounded and supplemented by smaller satellite colonies.Colony Size and Polygyny in Carpenter Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Roger D. Akre, Laurel D. Hansen and Elizabeth A. Myhre Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society , Vol. 67, No. 1 (January 1994), pp. 1–9
Food
Carpenter ants are considered both predators and scavengers. These ants are foragers that typically eat parts of other dead insects or substances derived from other insects. Common foods for them include insect parts, " honeydew" produced by aphids, or extrafloral nectar from plants. They are also known for eating other sugary liquids such as honey, syrup, or juices. Carpenter ants can increase the survivability of
aphids
Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...
when they tend them. They tend many aphid species but can also express preference for specific ones.
Most species of carpenter ants forage at night. When foraging, they usually collect and consume dead insects. Some species less commonly collect live insects. When they discover a dead insect, workers surround it and extract its bodily fluids to be carried back to the nest. The remaining chitin-based shell is left behind. Occasionally, the ants bring the chitinous head of the insect back to the nest, where they also extract its inner tissue. The ants can forage individually or in small or large groups, though they often opt to do so individually. Different colonies in close proximity may have overlapping foraging regions, although they typically do not assist each other in foraging. Their main food sources normally include
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
and
carbohydrates
In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or may ...
.
Instances of carpenter ants bleeding Chinese elm trees for the sap have been observed in the northern Arizona region. These instances may be rare as the colonies vastly exceeded the standard size of carpenter ant colonies elsewhere.
When workers find food sources, they communicate this information to the rest of the nest. They use biochemical
pheromones
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
to mark the shortest path that can be taken from the nest to the source. When a sizable number of workers follows this trail, the strength of the cue increases and a foraging trail is established. This ends when the food source is depleted. The workers will then feed the queen and the larvae by consuming the food they have found, and regurgitating (trophallaxis) the food at the nest. Foraging trails can either be under or above ground.
Although carpenter ants do not tend to be extremely aggressive, they have developed mechanisms to maximize their provision from a food source when that same food source is visited by a competing organism. This is accomplished in different ways. Sometimes they colonize an area near a relatively static food supply. More often, they develop a systemic way to visit the food source with alternating trips by different individual ants or groups. This allows them to decrease the gains of intruders because the intruders tend to visit in a scattered, random, and unorganized manner. The ants, however, visit the sources systematically such that they lower the mean standing crop. They tend to visit more resource-dense food areas in an attempt to minimize resource availability for others. That is, the more systematic the foraging behavior of the ants, the more random that of its competitors.
Contrary to popular belief, carpenter ants do not actually eat wood because they are unable to digest
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
. They only create tunnels and nests within it.
Some carpenter ant species can obtain nitrogen by feeding on
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
or urine-stained sand. This may be beneficial in nitrogen-limited environments.
Symbionts
All ants in this genus, and some related genera, possess an
obligate {{wiktionary, obligate
As an adjective, obligate means "by necessity" (antonym ''facultative'') and is used mainly in biology in phrases such as:
* Obligate aerobe, an organism that cannot survive without oxygen
* Obligate anaerobe, an organism that ...
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
l
endosymbiont
An ''endosymbiont'' or ''endobiont'' is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism most often, though not always, in a mutualistic relationship.
(The term endosymbiosis is from the Greek: ἔνδον ''endon'' "within" ...
called ''
Blochmannia
''Blochmannia'' is a genus of symbiotic bacteria found in carpenter ant. There are over 1000 species of these ants and, as of 2014, of the over 30 species of carpenter ant that have been investigated, all contain some form of ''Blochmannia''. T ...
''. This bacterium has a small genome, and retains genes to biosynthesize essential
amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...
s and other nutrients. This suggests the bacterium plays a role in ant nutrition. Many ''Camponotus'' species are also infected with ''
Wolbachia
''Wolbachia'' is a genus of intracellular bacteria that infects mainly arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects, and also some nematodes. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes, and is possibly the most common reproduct ...
'', another endosymbiont that is widespread across insect groups. ''Wolbachia'' is associated with the nurse cells in the queen's ovaries in the species ''Camponotus textor'', which results in the worker larva being infected.
Behavior and ecology
Nesting
Carpenter ants work to build the nests that house eggs in environments with usually high humidity due to their sensitivity to environmental humidity. These nests are called primary nests. Satellite nests are constructed once the primary nest is established and has begun to mature. Residents of satellite nests include older
larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
, pupae, and some winged individuals. Only eggs, the newly hatched
larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
, workers, and the queen reside in the primary nests. As satellite nests do not have environmentally sensitive eggs, the ants can construct them in rather diverse locations that can actually be relatively dry. Some species, like ''
Camponotus vagus
''Camponotus vagus'' is a species of large, black, Palaearctic carpenter ant with a wide range that includes much of Europe, a large area of Asia, and part of Africa.
Description
''Camponotus vagus'' is a relatively distinctive species that is ...
'', build the nest in a dry place, usually in wood.
Nuptial flight
When conditions are warm and humid, winged males and females participate in a
nuptial flight
Nuptial flight is an important phase in the reproduction of most ant, termite, and some bee species. It is also observed in some fly species, such as '' Rhamphomyia longicauda''.
During the flight, virgin queens mate with males and then land t ...
. They emerge from their satellite nests and females mate with a number of males while in flight. The males die after mating. These newly fertilized queens discard their wings and search for new areas to establish primary nests. The queens build new nests and deposit around 20 eggs, nurturing them as they grow until worker ants emerge. The worker ants eventually assist her in caring for the brood as she lays more eggs. After a few years, reproductive winged ants are born, allowing for the making of new colonies. Again, satellite nests will be established and the process will repeat itself.Pararas — Carayannis, Carolyn. "Carpenter Ants". Colony Behaviors of Carpenter Ants. Web. October 1, 2013.
Relatedness
Relatedness
The coefficient of relationship is a measure of the degree of consanguinity (or biological relationship) between two individuals. The term coefficient of relationship was defined by Sewall Wright in 1922, and was derived from his definition of th ...
is the probability that a gene in one individual is an identical copy, by descent, of a gene in another individual. It is essentially a measure of how closely related two individuals are with respect to a gene. It is quantified by the coefficient of relatedness, which is a number between zero and one. The larger the value, the more two individuals are "related". Carpenter ants are social hymenopteran insects. This means the relatedness between offspring and parents is disproportionate. Females are more closely related to their sisters than they are to their offspring. Between full sisters, the coefficient of relatedness is ''r'' > 0.75 (due to their
haplodiploid
Haplodiploidy is a sex-determination system in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. Haplodiploidy is sometimes called arrhenotoky.
Haplodiploidy determines the se ...
genetic system). Between parent and offspring, the coefficient of relatedness is ''r'' = 0.5, because, given the event in meiosis, a certain gene has a 50% chance of being passed on to the offspring. The level of relatedness is an important dictator of individual interactions.
Genetic diversity
Eusocial
Eusociality (from Greek εὖ ''eu'' "good" and social), the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), overlapping generat ...
insects tend to present low
genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is dis ...
within colonies, which can increase with the co-occurrence of multiple queens (
polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...
) or with multiple mating by a single queen (
polyandry
Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" ...
). Distinct reproductive strategies may generate similar patterns of genetic diversity in ants.
Kin recognition
According to
Hamilton's rule
Kin selection is the evolutionary strategy that favours the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even when at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin altruism can look like altruistic behaviour whose evolution ...
for relatedness, for relative-specific interactions to occur, such as kin
altruism
Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core as ...
, a high level of relatedness is necessary between two individuals. Carpenter ants, like many social insect species, have mechanisms by which individuals determine whether others are nestmates or not. They are useful because they explain the presence or absence of altruistic behavior between individuals. They also act as evolutionary strategies to help prevent
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
and promote kin selection. Social carpenter ants recognize their kin in many ways. These methods of recognition are largely chemical in nature, and include environmental odors, pheromones, "transferable labels", and labels from the queen that are distributed to and among nest members. Because they have a chemical basis for emission and recognition, odors are useful because many ants can detect such changes in their environment through their antennae. This allows acceptance of nestmates and rejection of non-nestmates.
The process of recognition for carpenter ants requires two events. First, a cue must be present on a "donor animal". These cues are called "labels". Next, the receiving animal must be able to recognize and process the cue. In order for an individual carpenter ant to be recognized as a nestmate, it must, as an adult, go through specific interactions with older members of the nest. This process is also necessary in order for the ant to recognize and distinguish other individuals. If these interactions do not occur in the beginning of adult life, the ant will be unable to be distinguished as a nestmate and unable to distinguish nestmates.
Kin altruism
Recognition allows for the presence of kin-specific interactions, such as kin altruism. Altruistic individuals increase other individuals' fitness at the expense of their own. Carpenter ants perform altruistic actions toward their nestmates so that their shared genes are propagated more readily or more often. In many social insect species like these ants, many worker animals are sterile and do not have the ability to reproduce. As a result, they forgo reproduction to donate energy and help the fertile individuals reproduce.
Pheromones
As in most other social insect species, individual interaction is heavily influenced by the queen. The queen can influence individuals with odors called
pheromones
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...
, which can have different effects. Some pheromones have been known to calm workers, while others have been known to excite them. Pheromonal cues from ovipositing queens have a stronger effect on worker ants than those of virgin queens.
Social immunity
In many social insect species, social behavior can increase the disease resistance of animals. This phenomenon, called social immunity, exists in carpenter ants. It is mediated through the feeding of other individuals by regurgitation. The regurgitate can have antimicrobial activity, which would be spread amongst members of the colony. Some
proteases
A protease (also called a peptidase, proteinase, or proteolytic enzyme) is an enzyme that catalyzes (increases reaction rate or "speeds up") proteolysis, breaking down proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids, and spurring the for ...
with antimicrobial activity have been found to exist in regurgitated material. Communal sharing of immune response capability is likely to play a large role in colonial maintenance during highly pathogenic periods.
Polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women.
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...
often is associated with many social insect species, and usually is characterized by limited mating flights, small queen size, and other characteristics. However, carpenter ants have "extensive" mating flights and relatively large queens, distinguishing them from polygynous species. Carpenter ants are described as oligogynous because they have a number of fertile queens which are intolerant of each other and must therefore spread to different areas of the nest. Some aggressive interactions have been known to take place between queens, but not necessarily through workers. Queens become aggressive mainly to other queens if they trespass on a marked territory. Queens in a given colony can work together in brood care and the workers tend to experience higher rates of survival in colonies with multiple queens. Some researchers still subscribe to the notion that carpenter ant colonies are only monogynous.
Exploding ants
In at least nine
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n species of the ''Cylindricus'' complex, including ''
Camponotus saundersi
''Colobopsis saundersi'', synonym ''Camponotus saundersi'', is a species of ant found in Malaysia and Brunei, belonging to the genus ''Colobopsis''. A worker can explode suicidally and aggressively as an ultimate act of defense, an ability it has ...
'', workers feature greatly enlarged mandibular glands that run the entire length of the ant's body. They can release their contents suicidally by performing autothysis, thereby rupturing the ant's body and spraying toxic substance from the head, which gives these species the common name "exploding ants." The enlarged
mandibular
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...
gland, which is many times the size of that of a normal ant, produces a glue. The glue bursts out and entangles and immobilizes all nearby victims.
The termite species ''
Globitermes sulphureus
''Globitermes sulphureus'' (suicidal attack ants) is a species of termite that is very common in central and southern Vietnam and also present in other areas of South East Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, and Peninsular Malaysia. They live in ...
Camponotus americanus
''Camponotus americanus'' is a species of carpenter ant. The ant is above average in length with worker ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants ...
''
* ''
Camponotus anderseni
''Colobopsis anderseni'', synonym ''Camponotus anderseni'', is a species of mangrove ant found in northern Australia.
Taxonomy
The species was originally placed in the ant genus '' Camponotus'' when described in 2001 as ''Camponotus (Colobopsi ...
''
* '' Camponotus atriceps'' – Florida carpenter ant (cf. ''C. floridanus'')
* ''
Camponotus bishamon
is a species of carpenter ant endemic to Japan.
Description
This major workers of this species have a head that is almost as wide as it is long, with subparallel sides and an almost straight posterior margin in full view. Anterior margin cl ...
Camponotus cinctellus
''Camponotus cinctellus'', commonly known as the shiny sugar ant, is a species of Camponotus, sugar ant''ITIS: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System''. Orrell T. (custodian), 2011-04-26 with an extensive range in the eastern Afrotropical r ...
'' – shiny sugar ant
* ''
Camponotus compressus
''Camponotus compressus'' is a type of ground-nesting species of ant found in India and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the ...
Camponotus consobrinus
The banded sugar ant (''Camponotus consobrinus''), also known as the sugar ant, is a species of ant native to Australia. A member of the genus '' Camponotus'' in the subfamily Formicinae, it was described by German entomologist Wilhelm Ferdina ...
Camponotus fellah
''Camponotus fellah'' is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae found across the Middle East and North Africa. This species was formally described by Dalla Torre in 1893. A ''C. fellah'' queen holds the record for Israeli ant longevity, sur ...
Buckley
Buckley may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Buckley's, a Canadian pharmaceutical corporation
* Buckley Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer
* Buckley Broadcasting, an American broadcasting company
* Buckley School (California), ...
, 1866)
* ''
Camponotus flavomarginatus
''Camponotus flavomarginatus'' is a black coloured ant with coarse erect hairs on the abdomen. It is fairly common especially on isolated ground where it nests in the soil. It forages widely across the ground and on native herbaceous vegetation. ...
'' Mayr, 1862
* ''
Camponotus floridanus
''Camponotus floridanus'', or Florida carpenter ant, is a species of ant in the genus '' Camponotus''. First described as ''Formica floridana'' by Buckley in 1866, the species was moved to '' Camponotus'' by Mayr in 1886. The ant is widespread i ...
Camponotus herculeanus
''Camponotus herculeanus'' (or Hercules ant) is a species of ant in the genus '' Camponotus'', the carpenter ants, occurring in Northern Eurasia, from Norway to Eastern Siberia, and North America. First described as ''Formica herculeana'' by Linn ...
Camponotus modoc
''Camponotus modoc'' or western carpenter ant is a black carpenter ant
Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed ou ...
'' Wheeler, W. M., 1910 – western carpenter ant
* '' Camponotus monju''
* ''
Camponotus nearcticus
''Camponotus nearcticus'', commonly named smaller carpenter ant is a relatively small carpenter ant. Its appearance is similar of that to ''Lasius niger'', commonly named the black garden ant. The ant is a household pest.
Identification
Workers ...
Camponotus reburrus
''Camponotus reburrus'' (from Latin, ''reburrus'', meaning one with bristling hair, referring to the hairs on the head) is a species of carpenter ants in the subfamily Formicinae. It is known only from northeastern Ecuador. ''C. reburrus'' appare ...
'' Mackay, in Mackay & Barriga, 2012
* '' Camponotus punctulatus'' (Mayr) – Tacuru ant
* ''
Camponotus saundersi
''Colobopsis saundersi'', synonym ''Camponotus saundersi'', is a species of ant found in Malaysia and Brunei, belonging to the genus ''Colobopsis''. A worker can explode suicidally and aggressively as an ultimate act of defense, an ability it has ...
Camponotus sericeiventris
''Camponotus sericeiventris'', the shimmering golden sugar ant, is a species of camponotine ant in the family Formicidae.
Subspecies
These five subspecies belong to the species ''Camponotus sericeiventris'':
* ''Camponotus sericeiventris holmg ...
''
* ''
Camponotus sericeus
''Camponotus sericeus'' is a species of carpenter ant
Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandi ...
Camponotus tortuganus
''Camponotus tortuganus'' is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
References
Further reading
*
tortuganus
Articles created by Qbugbot
Insects described in 1895
{{ant-stub ...
'' (Emery) – Tortugas carpenter ant
* ''
Camponotus triodiae
''Camponotus triodiae'' is a species of ant found in Australia, originally discovered in northern South Australia. The ants' nests have a distinctive entrance created from a combination of a long tube of Triodia (plant genus), spinifex grass a ...
Camponotus vagus
''Camponotus vagus'' is a species of large, black, Palaearctic carpenter ant with a wide range that includes much of Europe, a large area of Asia, and part of Africa.
Description
''Camponotus vagus'' is a relatively distinctive species that is ...
'' Scopoli, 1763
* '' Camponotus variegatus'' (Smith, F., 1858) – Hawaiian carpenter ant
Relationship with humans
One of the most familiar species associated with human habitation in the United States is the black carpenter ant (''Camponotus pennsylvanicus'').
As pests
Carpenter ants can damage wood used in the construction of buildings. They can leave behind a
sawdust
Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, ...
-like material called
frass
Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter.
Definition and etymology
''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...
that provides clues to their nesting location. Carpenter ant galleries are smooth and very different from
termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...
-damaged areas, which have mud packed into the hollowed-out areas. Carpenter ants can be identified by the general presence of one upward protruding node, looking like a spike, at the "waist" attachment between the thorax and abdomen (petiole). Control involves application of insecticides in various forms including dusts and liquids. The dusts are injected directly into galleries and voids where the carpenter ants are living. The liquids are applied in areas where foraging ants are likely to pick the material up and spread the poison to the colony upon returning.
As food
Carpenter ants and their larvae are eaten in various parts of the world. In Australia, the
Honeypot ant
Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialised workers (repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) that are gorged with food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, throug ...
(''
Camponotus inflatus
Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialised workers (repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) that are gorged with food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, through ...
'') is regularly eaten raw by
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
. It is a particular favourite source of sugar for Australian Aborigines living in arid regions, partially digging up their nests instead of digging them up entirely, in order to preserve this food source. In
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, lumbermen during the early years in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
would eat carpenter ants to prevent
scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...
, and in
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
Northern Paiute people
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
ate the tickling, acid gasters of the large jet-black carpenter ants. In
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, carpenter ants are among a vast number of species that are consumed by the
San people
The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, ...
.
References
Cited texts
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Further reading
* (1861): Die europäischen Formiciden. Vienna PDF €”original description of p. 35
* (2007): A Key to ''Camponotus'' Mayr of Australia. In: Snelling, R.R., B.L. Fisher and P.S. Ward (eds). Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): homage to
E. O. Wilson
Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of an ...
– 50 years of contributions. ''Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute'' 80 PDF — 91 species, 10 subspecies
National Pest Management Association
The National Pest Management Association (NPMA), is a non-profit trade association founded in 1933 that represents the interests of the professional pest management and pest control industries in the United States.Carpenter Ants An online supplemental to "Carpenter Ants: Biology and Control" by Laurel Hansen, Ph.D. of Spokane Falls Community College
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157875
Ant generaTaxa named by Gustav Mayr