Carpenter ants

Disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (TiM-BOR) is registered for a variety of pests including termites, wood destroying beeties, and carpenter ants. This same compound is also used to control fly larvae in manure piles and is marketed as POLYBOR 3 for this apphcation. 

Other ants, like the carpenter ant, are incapable of stinging, but that does not stop them from biting and then squirting formic acid into the wound. In this case, because the venom is not injected, a baking soda paste can quickly neutralize the venom and ease the pain. Fire ants, however, have toxic alkaloid venom. Regardless of whether the ant that bites or stings you has acidic or alkaline venom, however, one thing remains the same—it hurts ... 

Texas A8rM University Department of Entomology. Carpenter ant, Camponotus spp. Available online. URL http // urbanentomology.tamu.edu/ants/carpenter.cfim. Accessed on March 19, 2008. 

Morel, L., Vander Meer, R.K. and Lavine, B. K. (1988). Ontogeny of nestmate recognition cues in the red carpenter ant (Camponotus floridanus) Behavioral and chemical evidence for the role of age and social experience. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol., 22,175-183. 

In addition to the Drosophila sex pheromone CHCs mentioned above, it is well known that CHCs are used by ants for various chemical communications nestmate recognition, caste discrimination, etc. (see related chapters). In various ant species, chemical analysis of the body surface materials suggested that the colony-specific blends of a multi-component CHC mixture act as the nestmate-discriminative pheromone (Bonavita-Cougourdan et al., 1987 Yamaoka, 1990 Howard, 1993 Vander Meer and Morel, 1998 Howard and Blomquist, 2005). In a Japanese carpenter ant, Camponotus japonicus, the CHC pheromone, consisting of 18 CHC components of 20-40 carbons, is used as a chemical cue for nestmate and non-nestmate discrimination (Yamaoka, 1990). Because of the antennation behavior for inspecting encountered ants, the CHC-sensitive sensillum was expected to be discovered on the antenna. 

Carlin, N. and Holldobler, B. (1988). Influence of virgin queens on kin recognition in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Insectes Soc., 35, 191-197. 

Carlin, N.F. and Holldobler, B. (1986). The kin recognition system of carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) I hierarchical cues in small colonies. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.,... 

Leonhardt, S., Brandstaetter, A. and Kleineidam, C. (2007). Reformation process of the neuronal template for nestmate-recognition cues in the carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus. J. Comp. Physiol. A, 193, 993-1000. 

Flight Initiation Pheromones. The mating flights of many species of carpenter ants are initiated by male mandibular gland secretions (148). These chemical stimulators of female flight appear to constitute relatively species-specific blends of compounds that are dominated by compounds such as 2,4-dimethyl -2-hexenoic acid, methyl 6-methyl salicylate (XXXIV), methyl anthranilate (XXXIX), 10-methyldodecanoic acid, and the lactone mellein (XL) (149, 150). Recently, the sex-specific blend of... 

Exactly right. The parallax angles are so tiny that they are measured in seconds of arc where one second is 1/3600 of a degree. If you could view a ladybug, carpenter ant, or a circular piece of paper made from a hole puncher from a mile (or two kilometers) away, they would appear to have a diameter corre-... 

Often mistaken for termites, carpenter ants have longer bodies and shorter wings than termites, and while a be... 

In the natural environment most wood decomposes as a result of both insect and microbial activity. Most insect pests of wood are either termites or beetles. Other insects such as wood wasps, moths, carpenter ants etc. are sometimes significant locally but by and large the termites (order Isopterd) and beetles (order Coleopterd) are the wood destroying insects of greatest importance. 

Figure 23. An extensive network of galleries (arrows) produced by carpenter ants during attack on dry wood.

Wood is susceptible to many forms of degradation, especially when it is exposed to fungi and insect species as termites, powder post beetles, and carpenter ants which are wood-destroying organisms. This was the original idea behind the development of wood preservatives by destroying wood-insects, and various chemicals have been used for wood treatment. The chemicals used extensively for wood protection and as insect repellents for wood preservatives include pentachlorophenol, arsenic... 

Hefetz, A. and Blum, M. S. (1978) Biosynthesis and accumulation of formic acid in the poison gland of the carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus. Sciencey 201, 454-5. 

Traniello, J. F. A. (1977) Recruitment behaviour, orientation and the organisation of foraging in the carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus De Geer (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Behav. Ecol. Sociolbiol., 2, 61-79. 

In some species of insects, recognition pheromones have been identified. In carpenter ants, a caste-specific secretion has been found in the mandibular glands of the males of five different species. These secretions have several functions, one of which is to allow members of the same species to recognize one another. Insects not having the correct recognition odor are immediately attacked and expelled from the nest. In one species of carpenter ant, methyl anthranilate has been shown to be an important component of the recognition pheromone. 

Mellein (19) causes inhibition of growth of corn seedUngs (90) and has been found recently in several insects. The defensive secretion of termites (41) and Australian onerine ants (52), the mandibular gland secretion of carpenter ants (48) and the male hair pencils of the oriental fruit moth (19) all contain mellein (19). There is no evidence that mellein acts as a sex attractant the insect irritant or insecticidal properties of mellein are implicated (121). 8-Hydroxyisocoumarin (14) and its dihydro derivative (13) are found in the defensive secretion of the tem-brionid beetle, Aspena pubescens (175). 

Caste-specific compounds produced by some male carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) include 2,4-dimethyl-2-hexenoic acid (396). Brand et al. 176) and Kooenski et al. 177) prepared (396) as a mixture of E-and Z-isomers (Schemes 70 and 71), whereas Katzenellenbogen and Utawanit 178) obtained the pure -isomer (396a) by stereoselective dehydration of p-hydroxy ester (402) via a P-alanoxy enolate (Scheme 72). 

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