Invertebrates
Carpenter Ant
Camponotus · also called carpenter ants
Deep inside a decaying log, a colony of carpenter ants works through smooth, hollowed-out galleries they carved themselves, discarding the wood shavings rather than eating them, an entirely different relationship with wood than the termites often mistaken for the same insect.
Overview
The carpenter ant, genus Camponotus, is one of the largest ant groups found in North America, native to forest habitat across most of the world where it nests within dead or decaying wood. Its purely structural, non-feeding relationship with wood and a remarkable self-sacrificing defensive behaviour in certain species make it one of the more architecturally and behaviourally notable ants worldwide.
A builder, not an eater
Unlike termites, which break down wood as a food source, the carpenter ant treats wood purely as raw building material, excavating smooth living quarters while getting its actual meals from an entirely different, much sweeter menu.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable forest habitat worldwide.
Carpenter Ant: common questions
Does the carpenter ant eat the wood it tunnels through?
No, a carpenter ant excavates smooth tunnels and galleries through wood to build its nest, but unlike termites it does not actually consume the wood as food, instead feeding on other insects, honeydew from aphids, and sugary plant material.
How does a carpenter ant's self-sacrificing defence work?
Certain carpenter ant species have a specialised soldier caste capable of deliberately rupturing its own body wall to spray a sticky, toxic defensive secretion directly at an attacker, a behaviour that kills the defending ant in the process but can disable or kill the threat, protecting the rest of the colony.
Why are carpenter ants considered a pest in buildings?
Carpenter ants are considered a significant structural pest when they establish nests within the wood of buildings, since their ongoing tunnelling activity can gradually weaken structural timber over time, even though the ants are not feeding on the wood itself.
Where do carpenter ants live?
Carpenter ant species are found in forest habitat across most of the world, generally nesting in dead or decaying wood, with mature colonies sometimes establishing multiple connected satellite nests.