{"id":3348,"date":"2010-11-29T11:33:43","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T16:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:50:16","slug":"5007e","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/ipm\/ipddl\/publications\/5007e\/","title":{"rendered":"Carpenter Ants"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n \n \"Print\n <\/a>\n <\/div><\/h3>\n

Pest Management Fact Sheet #5007<\/h3>\n

James F. Dill, Pest Management Specialist
\nClay A. Kirby (retired), Insect Diagnostician
\nCharles D. Armstrong, Cranberry Professional & Staff Entomologist
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

For information about UMaine Extension programs and resources, visit extension.umaine.edu<\/a>.
\nFind more of our publications and books at extension.umaine.edu\/publications\/<\/a>.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n

Carpenter ants get their name because of their habit of excavating, tunneling and living in wood. In Maine we have primarily the “New York carpenter ant” (Camponotus novaeboracensis<\/i>) and the “Eastern black carpenter ant” (C. pennsylvanicus<\/em>). Their habits and sizes are similar, but in Maine, the black carpenter ant species is by far the more common of the two. Carpenter ants are one of the larger ants in Maine, but we also have a very small species of carpenter ant called the “smaller carpenter ant” (C. nearcticus) <\/em>whose workers are only about 5 mm in length.\u00a0 Nests of nearcticus<\/em> are reported to be small as well, comprising only a few hundred individuals, but the species is nonetheless still considered a household pest.<\/p>\n

Carpenter ants do not eat wood, but rather excavate tunnels and cavities inside of it in order to increase nesting space. In the forest, carpenter ants feed on sap, pollen, nectar, fruits, and both living and dead insects. Water is an important part of their diet.\u00a0 Honeydew, the sweet excretion of aphids–and certain other insects–is also a favorite food.<\/p>\n

Description & Biology<\/h3>\n

Like honey bees, ants are social insects. An ant colony consists of workers and at least one queen. The workers are sterile, wingless females, about 1\/4-inch long, the smallest residents of the colony. They gather food and water to feed the colony, and gnaw out wood to make the galleries in which the colony lives.<\/p>\n\n\t\t