 Carpenter Ants are in the family Formicidae. Members of this family, less than 1/16-1" (1-15 mm) long, are mostly black, brown, or reddish.
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They have a complex social structure usually
consisting of a wingless worker caste composed entirely of sterile
females and a reproductive caste made up of winged, fertile males
and females. But some species do not have a worker caste, and some
reproductives do not have wings.
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Ants have a slender "waist," or pedicel, of
1 or 2 beadlike or scalelike segments between the thorax and abdomen.
They differ from wasps in having distinctly elbowed antennae. Ants
live in colonies in underground tunnels or in galleries in dead
wood.
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From time to time, winged males and females
emerge from the nest and perform a brief mating flight. After mating,
the males die, and the females lose their wings and return to the
ground to start a new colony. Workers gather food, maintain and
defend the nest, and tend eggs, larvae, and pupae.
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Most species are predators or scavengers, but
a few harvest seeds, visit clusters of aphids to eat their sweet
secretions, raise fungus for food in small underground gardens,
or eat leaves cut from plants. Some species produce eggs, which
are eaten by the queen and workers.
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When disturbed, most ants are capable of "biting" or "stinging" people.
Warning These ants will bite if aggrevated.
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