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Camponotus modoc
Face view (low res, high res);
Lateral view (low res, high res).
One of our more common carpenter ant species, and a common house pest in western Washington. These big bruisers can be seen foraging on the ground and on low vegetation, usually around the edges of clearings. They like to forage at night and are less often seen during the day. The workers really love sugar, and when they come into houses to forage on the kitchen scraps it is usually at night. Often workers found in houses are coming from nests that are outside in the woods. But if they are coming from a nest that is actually inside your house, well, too bad. Given enough time they can cause some structural damage, because they chew holes in wood to make a nest space. However, they don't actually eat your house the way termites do. Wood is not their food. So damage is usually quite local, and takes at least a few years to develop. Also, carpenter ants usually need some source of moisture around their nest site, so sound dry wood is not in danger.
Last updated Friday, August 04, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
