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Termites and Carpenter Ants
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Taken from the B.Y.G.L. (Buckeye Yard and Garden Online) Newsletter
Contributing Authors: Pam Bennett, Joe Boggs, Cindy Meyer, Jim Chatfield, Erik Draper, Dave Dyke, Gary Gao, David Goerig, Tim Malinich, Becky McCann, Bridget Meiring, Amy Stone and Curtis Young |
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Barb Bloetscher and Joe Boggs reported that EASTERN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES (Reticulitermes flavipes) and BLACK CARPENTER ANTS (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) are swarming in central and southern Ohio. The swarms are composed of winged (alates) males and females that are emerging from colonies to mate and establish new colonies. While both insects tunnel through wood causing damage to structural wood in buildings, they have very different feeding and nesting habits and require different management methods. Thus, making a correct identification is the critical first step in developing an effective management plan.
A clue to an important difference between termites and ants appears in the name of the insect order for termites- Isoptera. "Iso" means "equal" and "ptera" means "winged." The front and hind wings of termites are almost equal in all aspects; consequently, it is difficult to distinguish any difference between them, other than the position. Also, termites have beaded antennae and they lack a constricted "waist" between the thorax and abdomen. Ants belong to the insect order Hymenoptera, the same as bees and wasps. The front wings of ants are almost twice the size of the hind wings. They also have elbowed antennae and a constricted "waist," just like bees and wasps. |
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| Both termites and carpenter ants will tunnel through wood in buildings, as well as in trees, which is not surprising since trees are part of these insect's native habitat. However, termites eat the wood as they tunnel and their colonies are located elsewhere. As their name implies, the main body of a subterranean termite colony, including the queen, is in the ground. Except for the winged reproductive males and females, termites do not emerge from the confines of their colonies or their feeding tunnels to disclose their presence. Carpenter ants tunnel through the wood to create living quarters but they do not eat the wood. These ants are scavengers and they are easily observed crawling about looking for dead insects as well as food droppings in homes. Carpenter ants nest inside their above-ground wood tunnels; however, they practice an interesting form of nesting behavior that involves "not putting all their eggs in one basket." The ants have two types of nests; namely, a "parent colony" which includes a queen and a number of "satellite colonies" located in other trees or buildings that do not have queens. To keep the satellite colonies viable, workers continually transport late instar larvae and pupae from the parent colony to the satellite colonies. |
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