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Carpenter
Ants
There are over a 1000 species of carpenter ants on our earth. 5 of these species are found in Quebec. These species are very well adapted to our climate, often hibernating within wood structures of homes during colder temperatures.
You have carpenter ants in your home during spring, winter, or autumn? Then you can be assured that they have a nest within the wood structure of your home.
Carpenter ants are attracted to wood which is, or has been attained by humidity. They will dig a network of tunnels in this wood to be used as nesting grounds. Carpenter ants can seriously damage the wood structure of a home after a couple of years.
Description
Carpenter ants are in general black, but parts of their body may be slightly red or brown. These ants can measure from a ¼ inch (6mm) to ¾ inch (20mm).
During the first 2 or 3 years of a colony the queen ant (20mm) will produce worker ants (6-8mm) and soldier ants (10-12mm). After 3 years of existence the mature colony will have about 2500-3000 individuals.
At this point, the queen ant will produce several winged male ants (9-10mm) and winged female ants (18-20mm).
On a hot summer day these winged ants will fly off to perform in-flight copulation. After copulation, males die and females lose their wings and become queens in search of a new nesting ground.
A queen ant may live up to 17 years and a worker or soldier ant up to 7 years.
Carpenter ants eat insects, worms, sugars, fats, mushrooms, etc.