Carpenter ants are common in almost every section of the United States. There are almost thirty species in the U.S. Fewer than ten species commonly invade homes. Carpenter ants can cause economic loss when the workers excavate wood to make a nest.
Most people think of carpenter ants as “large ants”. This is partly true — the largest members of a colony are very large ants. However, there are also small carpenter ants. When scientists talk about carpenter ant sizes, they use the word polymorphic. This word means that carpenter ants come in many sizes within the same colony.
The queen is usually the largest ant in the colony. In most colonies there is only one queen. However, in colonies of Camponotus vicinus (Mayr), there are several queens. This may be the reason for the colonies of this species of carpenter ant being very large.
During the year, most of the ants in a carpenter ant colony are workers. There are very large workers, called major workers. These can be more than 0.5″ long. There are also small workers, called minor workers. These are often less than 1/8″ long.
Since ants live in colonies, there are usually a lot of workers to share the jobs. In most colonies, the large major workers serve as defenders. Some people even call them soldiers. The major workers also do the heaviest lifting and may also help with large prey insects.
When minor workers come out of their cocoons as adults, they usually work in the nursery. They clean and care for the eggs, feed the larvae, and help the larvae spin their cocoons.
As the workers get older, their duties change. They move from the nursery and become nest builders and foragers. Their duty is to find food, bring it back to the nest, and share it with the other ants in the colony.