The carpenter ant queen is the reproductive center of her colony, responsible for laying every egg. Spotting her is significant for a homeowner, as it indicates a mature colony is established nearby or actively forming a new nest within the structure. Identifying the queen is the first step in understanding a potential infestation and requires recognizing distinct physical characteristics that set her apart from all other ants.
Overall Size and Distinct Body Plan
The most immediate feature of the queen is her size, which is substantially larger than the worker ants she produces. Depending on the species, a carpenter ant queen measures between 1/2 to 5/8 inch long, sometimes reaching up to an inch. This makes her roughly twice the size of the largest worker ants.
Her body is noticeably more robust than the slender workers. Her oversized mid-section, the thorax, is exceptionally wide and high, giving her a distinctive, humped or arched profile. This large thorax once housed the powerful flight muscles necessary for her single mating flight. The queen’s color is typically uniform, often dark brown or black, though some regional species may exhibit reddish-black coloring.
Specific Identification Features
Beyond her overall size, the carpenter ant queen possesses specific anatomical markers. Like all carpenter ants, she has a single-node petiole, the small segment that forms her “waist” between the thorax and the abdomen. This single segment is a defining feature of the Camponotus genus.
The profile of her thorax is evenly rounded and arched without any dips when observed from the side. This smooth, continuous arch helps distinguish carpenter ants from other large ant species. Her antennae are bent or “elbowed,” with a sharp joint in the middle. Additionally, the queen may have three small simple eyes, known as ocelli, arranged in a triangle on the top of her head.
The Winged vs. Wingless Queen
A carpenter ant queen can be encountered in two forms, depending on the stage of her life cycle. The winged queen is a “swarmer” or alate that participates in the nuptial flight to mate. She is equipped with four translucent wings; the forewings are visibly longer than the hind wings, which differentiates her from termites.
After successfully mating, the queen finds a suitable nesting location and sheds her wings, a process known as dealation. A wingless, or dealated, queen is easily identified by the presence of distinct wing scars. These appear as small, light-colored, oval-shaped bumps or nubs on the sides of her enlarged thorax where the wings were previously attached. The body of the wingless queen is adapted for egg-laying, featuring a larger abdomen to accommodate her reproductive function.
Distinguishing Her from Workers and Males
The queen is the largest individual in the colony, setting her apart from the various sizes of sterile female workers. Worker ants, which range from minor to major castes, possess a more slender and less robust thorax. They lack the massive muscle capacity of the queen’s flight-adapted structure. The worker’s head often appears disproportionately large compared to the rest of its body, especially in major workers, while the queen’s head is proportional to her massive thorax.
Winged male swarmers are smaller and skinnier than the queen. The male’s body is delicate, and his head is much smaller than the queen’s. Although both have wings for the mating flight, the male dies shortly after mating and will not be seen as a wingless founder of a new colony.