Carpenter Ant

About the Carpenter Ant

They do not eat wood - they excavate it to create nesting galleries. A mature colony can contain 50,000 workers. They are most active at night, foraging up to 100 meters from the nest. They can lift 50 times their own body weight. They communicate through pheromones, sound, and touch. Satellite colonies can be connected by underground tunnels. They are among the longest-lived insects - queens can live 25+ years. They play important ecological roles as decomposers and soil aerators.