Carpenter Ant vs Doorkeeper Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Carpenter Ant Doorkeeper Ant
Scientific Name Camponotus pennsylvanicus Colobopsis truncata
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Formicidae Formicidae
Size 6-13 mm 3-6 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Gall Makers
Regions Eastern North America Southern and Central Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Carpenter Ant

The largest common ant in North America, excavating smooth galleries in dead wood for nesting. Unlike termites, they do not eat wood but merely remove it to create living space.

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Did You Know?

Injured workers that cannot keep up during colony relocations are carried by nestmates to the new site.

Doorkeeper Ant

A European carpenter ant in which soldiers have uniquely flattened, plug-shaped heads used to block nest entrances in plant stems. Workers are bicolored yellow and dark brown. They nest in hollow twigs and galls of various trees.

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Did You Know?

Soldier ants literally use their flattened heads as living doors, opening the nest entrance only when nestmates present the correct chemical password.