Carpenter Ants As Social Insects

A colony typically has one queen who begins the nest under a rock, in a tree hole or a tunnel in a tree. She will lay a few eggs which will hatcht o be the first workers of the colony. These are the smallest ants of the colony called Minims. These minims are given the task of foraging for food and feeding the queen and any young she produces. The queen ant will lay 22 eggs in 15 days. It takes between 60 and 70 days to reach adult stage.

During the spring, carpenter ant colonies will produce winged male and female ants that will fly out from the nest to start a new colony. this occurs when the colony needs to expand, generally when the colony numbers more than 2,000 workers. This is what is called "swarming" it can be both male and female winged ants or just males who are 'evicted' by worker ants. Carpenter ants will travel great distances in their quest for food for the queen. They have been noted foraging up to 750 feet from the nest!

Carpenter ants are commonly wingless, non-reproducing adults of the worker caste. All ants live in large groups or colonies consisting of hundreds of workers, a few reproductive males and females as well as at least one queen. Mating takes place in flight by winged ants during late spring and early summer. Shortly after, the male dies and the single fertilized queen ant finds a suitable nesting place to lay eggs and begin a new colony. The small, white, oval eggs hatch into larvae. The queen continues nourishment until the larvae pupate and adult ants emerge. If warm temperatures exist, the egg to adult cycle can be completed in three months. At first, the colony is small, however, in later years the population can increase to 2000-3000 ants.