their wings are often dark brown with purple or green irides- 
cence. Campsomeris annulata (Fab.), a native of China and 
Japan, was introduced against the Japanese beetle in the twenties 
but did not become established. 
FAMILY SAPYGIDAE 
As far as known, all members of this family are parasitic on 
the larvae of leaf-cutting bees. Less than a dozen species are re- 
corded from eastern United States. Adults are moderate in size, 
short legged and usually spotted or banded with yellow. 
FAMILY FORMICIDAE 
THE ANTS 
Ants are among the most abundant and widespread of all in- 
sects and they are found in practically all terrestrial habitats. 
The majority of species nest in the soil, while many others build 
their nests in wood, in timbers, in or under the bark of decaying 
trees, or in hollow stems of plants. Some of the more primitive 
species feed on insects or other small animals which they are able 
to kill. Many others feed on sweet fluids such as sap exuding from 
wounds, on nectar, or on honeydew produced by other insects. 
Certain leaf-cutting species cultivate fungi on which they feed. 
Ants differ from their near relatives in having the abdomen 
divided into two distinct regions, the pedicel and the gaster; and 
in having the antennae elbowed, with the first segment greatly 
elongated in the females and workers. They also differ from ter- 
mites, with which they are often confused, by having a strong 
constriction or “‘waist” between the thorax and abdomen and by 
having two pairs of wings of unequal size. | 
Ants are social insects and live in nests or colonies containing 
from a few to several thousands of individuals each. A cvolony 
consists of three castes—females, males, and workers. Females 
generally are winged, the wings being discarded after they mate. 
Males are usually smaller than females and generally retain their 
wings until death. Workers are wingless and are usually smaller 
than the females or males. 
With the exception of the carpenter ants and certain leaf- 
cutting species, ants are of minor importance as enemies of trees 
or wood products. Many species, however, are nuisance pests in 
forested areas, especially in picnicking or other recreational areas. 
Several publications on the biology and control of carpenter ants 
are available (277, 632, 649, 660). 
The black carpenter ant, Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer), 
nests in standing live and dead trees, rotting logs, and stumps, 
telephone and telegraph poles, and the wood of houses and other 
buildings. It is widely distributed in eastern United States and 
Canada, occurring from North Dakota to Quebec and Ontario and 
south to Texas and Florida. These are large ants (fig. 199), the 
workers ranging in length from 6 to 13 mm. The body color is 
typically black, but in some individuals the pleuron, petiole, and 
legs are reddish. The gaster is covered with dense, long, appressed, 
486 
