The red-breasted carpenter ant is a forest insect that represents one of the most unwanted guests inside a human home, which must be gotten rid of. This is explained by the fact that this species is capable of carrying some dangerous diseases and infections:
- typhoid fever,
- plague
- dysentery,
- polio,
and also infect houses and apartments with helminths.
OUR READERS RECOMMEND! In the fight against ants, our readers recommend the Pest-Reject repeller. Electromagnetic and ultrasonic technology is 100% effective against ants, cockroaches, bedbugs and other insects. Absolutely safe, environmentally friendly product for humans and pets. Read more here...
These insects are extremely difficult to remove. They are distinguished by high vitality and very rapid reproduction. This is facilitated by their omnivorous nature; they are unpretentious in their choice of food, but still give preference to food that is rich in carbohydrates and animal proteins. Thanks to their tiny size, they can hide in the most remote corners. Inside houses, they are attracted to warm, humid places, for example, bathrooms, toilets, and kitchens. In addition, these creatures can easily survive without food or drink for about five days.
Nutrition and lifestyle
Carpenter ants build nests in old and drying wood, gnawing out random passages and chambers in it. Most often, a new colony appears in the ground and moves into the wood as the number of the family grows. Family size can reach up to 10,000 individuals.
The distribution of responsibilities among working individuals depends on the size of the insects. The smallest ants perform the functions of nannies; workers of intermediate sizes are foragers, delivering prey to the nest, and the largest ants are called soldiers and defend nests when danger arises.
Insects can damage the frames of houses and construction wood, as well as gnaw the buds of young trees, and therefore are considered harmful. Foragers work mostly alone. They feed on honeydew, as well as live insects, which they actively hunt.
Camponotus herculeanus - Red-breasted carpenter ant
Russian ant lovers have long been familiar with representatives of the genus Camponotus. Naturally! After all, some of the most popular domestic ants, in addition to Messor structor, are Camponotus parius and Camponotus nicobarensis. Those who have the opportunity to observe these ants living in acrylic and gypsum formicariums may even be sincerely perplexed why in Russia it is customary to call camponotuses carpenter borers. What does woodworm have to do with it? They don't live in trees!
However, myrmekeepers, seduced by tropical exoticism, forget about our domestic camponotuses. For example, the standards of “camponotus” are Camponotus herculeanus and Camponotus ligniperda. These northern giants use their powerful mandibles to gnaw nests in dry wood, which is why our taxonomists call them “carpenters,” that is, those who make passages in trees. Both species of ants are similar in structure, size and behavior, but differ slightly in color - the base of the abdomen of Camponotus ligniperda is reddish, while that of Camponotus herculeanus is dark, matching the color of the body. In those regions where the former do not exist, the latter, as a rule, live and vice versa. These types of camponotuses do not differ from each other in the requirements for living conditions.
Despite the fact that Camponotus herculeanus (also known as the red-breasted carpenter ant) is the most noticeable and largest species of Camponotus in central Russia and the north, this species is unpopular in the Myrmekeeper environment and is extremely rare in collections. And this is not at all due to the fact that camponotus is poorly distributed in nature. On the contrary, during the flight (April-June) queens are quite easy to find, and in the forest Herculeanus is considered one of the dominant species along with red forest ants of the genus Formica. The answer is simple: the difficulty of keeping them is the reason why we have so few colonies of northern camponotuses. And the “pitfalls” lie not in the requirements for humidity/temperature, but in wintering.
But difficulties cannot frighten someone who has seriously and for a long time decided to get the largest ants of Russia and Europe into his Myrmekeeper collection.
- Growing from the uterus . This is the most common way to obtain a colony of Camponotus herculeanus. The queens of this species are very large and massive, and their plump abdomen eloquently hints that they contain the reserves necessary to raise the first generation of workers.
In nature, the future woodworm queen travels for a long time along tree trunks in search of shelter. However, in an old forest such a shelter is easy to find - the passage of a longhorn beetle larva, for example, is suitable as it. The uterus penetrates into the very depths, gnaws out a chamber of the required size with powerful mandibles, and securely seals the entrance with sawdust. In the future, only born workers will open the plug of chewed wood, because the uterus does not come out anywhere during the founding of the family. In a similar way, she settles down at home in an incubator test tube. An important part of this incubator should be a tightly twisted fleece bordering the water. This is done in order to reduce the humidity and bring it closer to that required by woodworms.
And to increase the success of our enterprise, you can give the queen a drop of syrup and a small killed insect (fly/mosquito). In a little more than a month, the first ants should appear, and then you need to feed more seriously.
- Feeding _ The natural diet of Camponotus herculeanus consists of the sweet secretions of aphids, tree sap, fruits and various insects, among which caterpillars predominate. These are, perhaps, the second ants after Formica, which make a huge contribution to the protection of the forest.
in a word, they do not spoil commercial wood, occupying only trunks damaged by beetles for housing. At home, camponotuses happily drink honey and sugar syrup and eat all types of live food items.
- Formicarium . Life in dry wood also implies low humidity in the formicarium. Indeed, Herculeanuses feel good in completely wooden formicariums, being content with only a drinking bowl to obtain moisture. But the ideal for them, perhaps, would be a combined truss made of wood and gypsum with an isolated gypsum part that will be moistened. So the ants will choose where they are more comfortable.
If this is not possible, then camponotuses will live in both standard acrylic formicariums and dry gypsum ones (only the gypsum must be of high quality - woodworms really like to gnaw on everything).
- Wintering . The most difficult part of maintaining a Camponotus herculeanus colony. It is worth noting that this species sometimes experiences a summer diapause, when the ants are absolutely passive, practically do not enter the arena for food, and the brood does not develop. This is normal - this is how the family relaxes. Herculeanuses are capable of raising larvae in a short time, as they are accustomed to doing this in northern conditions; they adhere to the same rhythms at home. The real wintering begins in late autumn: the ants drink syrup to their fullest, huddle together and lie down.
Eggs and small larvae that have not had time to develop acquire a yellowish tint. At this time, you need to gradually reduce the temperature, and then place the colony along with the formicarium in a cool place (this can be either the cellar or your refrigerator - the vegetable compartment). The ants will not eat, they will have a full rest.
Wintering, lasting from three to six months, is the key to the successful development of this species. If you are not afraid of the annual separation from wintering pets for a long time, get Camponotus herculeanus and, perhaps, you will become the owner of the largest colony of these harsh northern ants in Russia.
Life cycle
Reproductive individuals are born in the second half of summer and most often overwinter in nests where there are usually either males or females, which prevents inbreeding. The flight of winged males and females begins in May. It is usually solitary or carried out in a small swarm. Mating occurs in the crowns of trees, after which the males quickly die, and the female queens chew off their wings and begin to search for a place for a nest, where they lay eggs, which develop for about a week.
The first larvae of the queen are raised independently; the next generations are looked after by the first emerging working individuals. Unfertilized eggs produce males, and fertilized eggs produce females. The larvae develop for 2 weeks, during which they pass through 5 instars and pupate. The pupa develops in about 12 days.
Keeping Ants - Camponotus Vagus
Camponotus vagus (from Latin - Camponotus vagus) is the most common black woodborer in the genus of ants. They live in European forests, the Caucasus, Siberia, and Asia.
Appearance
: dark gray and black. Working individuals are covered with sparse gray hairs.
Work and rest schedule:
Proper maintenance and timely hibernation are important for ants - without it they do not develop.
Development
: after hibernation, the queen lays eggs, from which larvae are formed, which are very insatiable in food. Small worker ants first appear in the colony, which over time grow into large black carpenter ants.
Nutrition.
The main food of this species is sweet syrups, dead insects: flies, mealworms, mosquitoes. The ants' diet should include insects only from the pet store. There should be no food from the external environment. There is a risk of such food being contaminated with parasites. For adults, large soldiers, sugar syrups and honey solutions (water and honey 1:1) are recommended. Protein food is important for kids - dead insects from the store.
House for ants or formicarium.
Should be medium to large in size, with a spacious area for the ant to hunt. We equip the arena with moss stones, rotten wooden branches, driftwood, and bark. An important detail: the nest should not be exposed to sunlight and there should be no vibration nearby. Ants will fence themselves off from light by building sand or earthen “fences.” A piece of dark fabric can darken the chambers and passages of insects.
Permissible humidity:
arena: 75-85%, nest: 85-90%.
Permissible temperature:
arena 20-28 C, nest
:
20-27 C (at room level).
The farm needs to be moistened every 2-3 days by dripping water into a special container.
Cleaning:
The debris that the ants bring into the arena must be carefully removed with tweezers.
Hibernation:
necessarily three months, starting around October-November, temperature +8 C.
Dimensions
insects:
Queen (uterus) - thick abdomen with hairs, black. Size 14-16 mm.
Working ants are black, also with hairs. They differ from other ants in their diversity.
Reproduction - mating in flight for the female occurs between April and June. The female sheds her wings and, among the wooden structures of the house (old rotten stumps and trees), looks for a suitable place to form a new colony. There is only one queen in the nest. Two are unacceptable, one of them will die in the fight.
Camponotus vagus is recommended for beginning breeders. Therefore, it will be an excellent “springboard” for you to begin your flight into the interesting life of Myrmicism.
Who are ants?
Ants are a family of insects and a superfamily of Ants.
It should be noted that these are the most numerous representatives of the entire family. Why are these creatures so interesting? Despite their small size, they have a rather complex organization of their society. There is even a whole science that studies ants and their behavior, called myrmecology. It is difficult to describe all the diversity of these insects, and therefore we will only talk about forest ants, which we often encounter. In the middle part of Eurasia, as a rule, three varieties can be found. I would like to talk about them in more detail.
Why is the black carpenter ant dangerous?
The carpenter ant is useful for nature: it cleans forests of small parasites and fungi, and also loosens the soil, but for humans the ant can be a pest.
The insect reproduces quickly and is unpretentious to living conditions. Carpenter ants do not feed on wood. It makes tunnels in it, reducing the strength of the material and promoting rot. It is important to know that the black carpenter ant often damages supporting structures near the base. This creates a risk of the building collapsing.
Like other types of ants, the black carpenter ant can bite humans. Although such a bite does not pose a significant threat, it can cause an allergic reaction. It manifests itself especially often in young children.
Allergy symptoms most often include:
- nausea;
- labored breathing;
- pale skin;
- tachycardia;
- dizziness.
Camponotus vagus are quite aggressive ants. Their bites are extremely dangerous for newborns.
It is also important to consider that the black carpenter ant is a carrier of many diseases. Infection can occur through any objects that have been visited by pests.
Carpenter ants can carry the following diseases:
- salmonellosis;
- helminthiasis;
- dysentery;
- cholera;
- typhoid fever.
Rarely does an insect cause diphtheria infection.
The carpenter ant poses a serious threat not only to people, but also to pets. It can carry such dangerous diseases for animals as parvovirus enteritis.
The pest often damages food. It is important to understand that eating such food is unacceptable. This is justified not only by the low nutritional value and lack of useful elements, but also by the extremely high risk of infection by diseases carried by the carpenter ant.
Signs of infection
Black carpenter ants are fairly easy to spot because they do not hide and are most active during the daytime. In addition, insects constantly follow certain routes and always move in large groups. In places where ants create tunnels, wood dust remains.
How harmful are carpenter ants?
All these three types of carpenter ants bring not only harm, but also benefit. In the house, they hunt not only for the remains of human food, but also destroy moths, bedbugs, spiders and other small invertebrates. But too many of these insects will cause serious inconvenience, especially if there are small children in the house. The bites of all types of ants are very painful in themselves. To enhance the effect, ants can spray formic acid into the bite site, which causes an allergic reaction and is especially dangerous for the delicate skin of a child.
Folk ways to get rid of misfortune
The mechanism of action of folk methods has not been specifically studied, so it is not known how this or that remedy for wood ants works. However, the effectiveness of natural methods has been confirmed by centuries of use in village and merchant houses as protection against insects, to remove woodworms in wooden buildings of the past.
Vinegar
To get rid of pests, their entry points are lubricated. Wood ants will have to be tracked down. If the “guests” cannot be detected, you can spray acetic acid concentrate in the suspected insect nesting area.
In order to prevent the appearance of woodworms in wooden and frame houses, wet cleaning with slightly acidic vinegar water is recommended. In case of severe infestation, walls and baseboards are sprayed with essence (work is carried out in personal protective equipment).
Toxic crayons
This is a modern remedy based on substances toxic to arthropods: fipramil and citermipil. In the fight against ants, Chinese chalk for cockroaches is used, as well as Russian chalk for insect pests “Mashenka” and “Titan”. Thanks to its special consistency, the composition is well applied and retained on the surface of the wood.
The processing technique is simple: outline the expected trajectory of the ants’ movement and the areas where they may appear. The insect crosses the “fatal” lines and receives a lethal dose of poison, but most often does not die immediately. Many individuals still have the strength to get into the nest and infect several more relatives.
Pepper
Ground red pepper and crushed chili are destructive for ants. Powder is sprinkled on the paths favored by ants. Black pepper has a weaker effect, but it will still repel parasitic insects and slightly reduce their numbers.
Sagebrush
Wood ants do not like the bitterness of this herb. Wormwood powder is good for sprinkling cracks in the house, attic spaces, and the perimeter in front of the house. The treatment should not be removed for 1-2 months (as the grass layer decreases, it must be renewed). After 2-3 months, the activity of illegal residents will noticeably decrease, or even disappear.
Citrus
Insects are repelled by essential oils and the smell of fruits. To protect wooden walls and structures from ants, it is enough to anoint the suspicious area with a slice of orange, grapefruit or lemon. To prevent the appearance of wood pests in the house, it is recommended to scatter dry citrus peels in the corners.
Tomato leaves
To remove the carpenter ant population, tomato tops are laid out around the perimeter of the room. Another way is to infuse the green mass of any nightshade crops (potato leaves, eggplants) in water and spray the room with the solution, paying special attention to secluded corners or identified anthills.
Cinnamon, curry and turmeric
Spicy herbs are effective against the annoying pilgrimage of insects. They repel wood pests with a strong odor based on volatile ether compounds. If an ant gets into the herbal powder, it gets poisoned. Method of using herbal remedies: the powder is scattered along the path of insect movement.
Black soap solution
An inexpensive, effective and completely safe product is produced industrially. The solution will help rid the house of wood insects for a long time: aphids, nematodes, mites, pathogenic fungi and ants. It is based on natural ingredients: conifer resins, potassium salts of fatty acids, cedar resin, natural essential oils with an odor intolerable to pests.
Methods for controlling these pests
To get rid of woodworms, you first need to make sure your home is inaccessible to them. Ants prefer damp wood, so you can expect them to appear in the kitchen or bathroom. To avoid this you must:
- Carefully plaster all cracks near pipes, ventilation holes, various installations, and also seal all cracks in the walls, even small ones.
- Create barriers for ants in places where there is a possibility of them entering the house. To do this, you can buy special preparations and spray these places with them.
- Keep the house clean so that scout ants doubt its suitability for them.
- All food supplies must be stored in closed containers to prevent ants from getting to them.
But if, after all, the carpenter ant decides to pay attention to the structure it has chosen, then there are several types of fight against it. These types include: traditional methods, the use of chemicals and calling professional disinfectors (as a last resort).
Signs of ants in the house
Carpenter ants leave behind traces of their vital activity - wooden dust, which looks like flour. It is a building material for insect nests. It is easiest to notice early in the morning or evening. It is then that they begin the period of collecting building materials. Dead insects are often found among the dust and sawdust.
Ants move through the developed territory one after another, so they are easy to spot on the floor or near the walls of the house.
By following these hard workers, you can quickly determine their favorite place. Proof that carpenter ants have settled near the house are rather large white eggs hidden in the nesting box. If the rot is located next to a wooden building, carefully inspect the walls of the house and pierce the walls with a thin screwdriver. This will help detect passages inside the tree.
Sometimes woodworms build an entire colony in the vicinity of a house. In this case, they lay paths between individual nests. Sometimes they can pass through the territory of the house. They easily penetrate there through microscopic cracks.
Where to look for ants
- Woodworms settle in damp wood because it becomes soft when exposed to water. It is much easier to make holes in such material. Therefore, they are investigating the places where the sewer exits.
- Check existing door mats.
- They inspect the foundation and courtyards.
- They look for woodworms in the grass, lawns, and under bushes.
- Explore the area around young trees. It is usually covered with a thick layer of damp mulch or leaves in which ants like to live. To find them, rake the mulch and inspect the ground.
- Woodworms can live in compost heaps. Sometimes they settle in floors and in potted plants.
