Carpenter ants play important roles in the ecosystem, in particular they favor the decomposition of decaying trees. But they can also infiltrate homes and other buildings, nest in damp, rotting wood, and cause significant structural damage. Being able to correctly recognize and distinguish carpenter ants from other species is an important factor in determining the right treatment to follow against infestation. If you want to learn how to identify carpenter ants, follow these guidelines.
Steps
Step 1. Look for wood chips near cracks, moldings and fittings
Carpenter ants do not eat wood, as is often thought. They empty tunnels and galleries and push residual material out of the nest into cone-shaped piles. The waste looks like pencil shavings.
Step 2. Look for carpenter ants in the evening when they roam in the open air
Unlike termites, carpenter ants are often seen outdoors, foraging for food and water.
Step 3. Hold a stethoscope, or press your ear to a glass, against a wall
You may hear carpenter ants rummaging.
Step 4. Look for black or red ants
Some carpenter ants are of both colors. A common species in California (Clarithorax Camponotus) is yellow and black in color.
Step 5. Measure the ant by placing it on a sheet of paper in front of a ruler
If you can't do it, try your best to evaluate the size. Carpenter ants vary in size, depending on their role in the colony and genus, but are usually much larger than any other variety of common ants. Among the most common species, the black carpenter ant in North America, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, can measure between 0.8 cm and 2.54 cm.
- Winged Queen: The queen is the largest ant in the colony, and can be up to 2.54cm long.
- Winged reproductive, males and females: 1, 9 cm.
- Senior workers: among the black carpenter ants, they can measure from 1 cm up to 1, 3 cm.
- Minor workers: from 0, 8 cm up to 1, 1 cm.
Step 6. Look for a distinctive, heart-shaped head with large jaws and cranked antennae
Step 7. Look for a single, segmented, waist pedicle constricted between the chest and abdomen
Other ants may have 1 or 2 lumps at the waist. Winged carpenter ants are sometimes mistaken for winged termites, but you can easily tell them apart if you examine the stalk. Termites have a large segmented waist that tapers towards the abdomen.
Step 8. Check if the upper chest is smooth and rounded
Common fire and garden ants have puckered chests.
