We introduce you to the Carpenter Ant, an insect with a passion for wood:
Maybe that way they will be cute and even funny and funny. What’s more, we even have illustrious ants:
Characters that accompany us and make us laugh or allow us to enjoy wonderful and incredible adventures.
But the reality is very different. The Carpenter Ant , scientific name Camponotus spp., is a species of ant belonging to the Formicidae family. It is characterized by its large size, its ability to build wooden nests, and its ability to cause damage to wooden structures.
And this, while correct, is a bit boring and impractical.
Now we introduce you to the real Carpenter Ant and we will explain that “passion for wood”
When we say “passion for wood” we mean that it devours it by creating passageways with the aim of building its nests. It does not feed on it as the termite does.
Carpenter ants are known for their ability to build wooden nests. They use their strong jaws to dig galleries and tunnels into the wood, thus creating a suitable nesting space. These ants prefer rotting and damp wood, but they can also cause damage to drier wooden structures.
In the photograph you can see the damage caused by this ant inside the wood.
“Yes, but surely these ants are very far away, somewhere far away in the tropics or in Australia,” you may be thinking. Well, no, it is true that the carpenter ant is native to different tropical and subtropical regions around the world. But it is already found in various parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. In each region, there are different species of carpenter ants adapted to their specific environment. And yes, there are species of carpenter ants in the Balearic Islands. In particular, the most common species on the island is the Camponotus aethiops, a black carpenter ant with a fairly large body. These ants typically nest in trees and can cause wood damage if they find their way into wooden structures into urban areas. Although we can even find other species of Carpenter Ant, since in this globalized world in which we live it is very common for them to arrive on pallets and as stowaways in the different means of transport that have turned our great planet into a small world and accessible to everyone.
If you are going to buy a house, or live in one with wooden structures, it is not inadvisable to carry out an analysis of the structures of the house. If you want to know what this analysis consists of and how we can help you, click here.
It is important to mention that the sting of the Carpenter Ant, without being dangerous, can be annoying for the little ones, disappearing after approximately 48 hours.
If you have seen something that has looked like a Carpenter Ant or you want to prevent its appearance, do not hesitate to contact us.
