Overwintering males and females in colonies over 3 years old engage in nuptial 
flights from May to late July. Fertilized females then establish nests in cavities, 
usually under the bark of a tree, log, or stump, and seal themselves inside. Here 
they rear their first broods of workers to maturity on salivary secretions. These 
workers, being inadequately fed, are smaller than normal. Subsequent broods are 
fed by the workers, and individuals are larger. Long-established colonies contain 
workers of various sizes, some of which are extraordinarily large. Such colonies 
may consist of a reproductive female, scores of winged males and virgin females, 
and several thousand workers. 
Tightly constructed houses with concrete foundations, good clearance, and full 
basements are fairly safe from invasion by black carpenter ants. Removing all wood 
from near or under a house site before construction, making certain that infested 
wood is not brought into the house, and cutting back branches in contact with the 
house are also helpful in preventing infestations in buildings. 
The red carpenter ant, C. ferrugineus (F.), occurs over much of the same 
portion of the United States as the black carpenter ant, but is apparently less 
common. It appears to prefer wooded areas where it nests in or beneath well-rotted 
logs and stumps. Under these conditions, it often extends its galleries for consider- 
able distances in the soil. Nests are also found in dead, standing trees but rarely in 
houses. The workers are about the same size as those of the black carpenter ant. 
Most of the thorax, petiole, base of the gaster, and much of the legs are yellowish 
ferruginous. The remainder is black. Hairs and pubescence are more golden yellow 
than those of the black carpenter ant, especially on the gaster. This species has 
caused considerable damage to standing northern white-cedar in Minnesota (494). 
The Florida carpenter ant, C. abdominalis floridanus (Buckley), occurs from 
North Carolina to Florida and Alabama. It is one of the most important house- 
infesting species in Florida. Workers are about 5.5 to 10 mm long. The head is 
reddish, the thorax and petiole yellowish or yellowish red, the scape and gaster 
blackish or black, and the body is covered with many long yellowish hairs. This 
species builds its nest in various places such as in the ground beneath objects, in 
dead branches in trees, in and beneath rotting logs and stumps, and sometimes in 
the woodwork of porches, roofs, kitchen sinks, and paneling. Outdoors, the ants 
feed largely on living and dead small insects, and on honeydew which they secure 
by tending aphids, mealybugs, and scales. Indoors, they feed on such items as 
molasses, honey, and raw and cooked meats. 
Camponotus nearcticus Emery usually nests in small colonies in dead twigs and 
branches of trees, in or beneath the bark of dead and living trees, in insect galls and 
pine cones, in the hollow stems of plants, and in wooden posts. Nests have also 
been found in the woodwork of houses, especially in roofing. It occurs from New 
York to Ontario, North Dakota and Colorado, and south to Mississippi and Florida. 
Workers are about 4.5 to 7.5 mm long, and their bodies are usually black and rather 
shiny. 
Camponotus sayi Emery occurs from North Carolina to Florida and west to 
Colorado and California, but is apparently most common in the Gulf Coast States. 
It nests in small colonies in tunnels made by borers in the twigs and branches of 
various hardwoods, in insect galls, in cavities in the stalks of plants, under the bark 
of trees, and in logs, stumps, wooden posts, and houses. Galleries in branches may 
be anywhere from 2 cm to over 1.5 m long. Workers are 4 to 9 mm long. The head, 
thorax, and petiole are usually yellowish red or reddish, and the gaster is blackish or 
black. C. caryae discolor (Buckley), a species similar in appearance and habits to 
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