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Carpenter Ant Galleries (Formicidae: Camponotus sp.) I think this is a carpenter ant gallery. This rotting log had large, irregular cavities and chambers that were complex and free of frass. Carpenter ants don&#039;t actually eat the wood, they just excavate it for their nests.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Rotting log in a mixed forest Geotagged,United States,Winter,ant gallery,camponotus,formicidae,galleries,gallery Click/tap to enlarge

Carpenter Ant Galleries (Formicidae: Camponotus sp.)

I think this is a carpenter ant gallery. This rotting log had large, irregular cavities and chambers that were complex and free of frass. Carpenter ants don't actually eat the wood, they just excavate it for their nests.

Habitat: Rotting log in a mixed forest

    comments (2)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    If they don't eat the wood, who made the holes? Posted 6 years ago
    1. View Christine Young's profile
      Christine Young
      Lion
      View Lion class
      The ants make the holes. They excavate the wood, producing lots of sawdust. The ants carry the sawdust to the edge of the holes and dump it out onto the ground. It must be really tedious work because I've watched ants excavating and some of them literally carry a tiny speck of dust at a time. The tunnels and chambers in the gallery stay really clean as ants are super hardworking and fastidious. Here's a photo of a sawdust pile made of ants excavating a log:

      Carpenter Ant Dump Pile - Camponotus sp. I came across this perfect pile of sawdust under a rotting log in a deciduous forest. The sawdust comes from carpenter ants, who are furiously working to excavate and create galleries inside the log. Carpenter ants don’t eat wood, but they use their jaws to tear pieces of wood out of a log when creating their galleries inside. They are very fastidious creatures and like to keep clean galleries, so they constantly push debris out of their living space. They cut slits in the wood (notice the long slit in the log), and below these slits, you'll see their dump site - little piles that look like sawdust. If you carefully inspect the dump pile, you will notice that it's not only made of wood shavings, but also insect parts and any other refuse that they don't want in their home. Camponotus,Geotagged,Spring,United States,ant,carpenter ant,dump pile,sawdust,signs of wildlife

       Posted 6 years ago

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By Christine Young

All rights reserved
Uploaded Apr 16, 2019. Captured Jan 27, 2019 14:53 in 91 Main St, Sharon, CT 06069, USA.
country flag of United States of America Explore United States of America 40,040 9,661 8
  • Canon EOS 80D
  • f/3.5
  • 1/197s
  • ISO100
  • 100mm
Captured in the winter. More winter photos.

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