Carpenter-Mimic Ant vs Dark Western Drywood Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Carpenter-Mimic Ant Dark Western Drywood Termite
Scientific Name Camponotus chromaiodes Incisitermes fruticavus
Order Hymenoptera Blattodea
Family Formicidae Kalotermitidae
Size 6-13 mm Workers 5-7 mm, soldiers 6-8 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Eastern North America Southwestern United States, Sonoran Desert
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Carpenter-Mimic Ant

A large bicolored carpenter ant with a bright red thorax and black head and gaster, common in eastern North American forests. Workers excavate galleries in dead wood and are primarily nocturnal foragers. They are often confused with C. pennsylvanicus.

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Did You Know?

They produce a distinctive alarm pheromone that smells like nail polish remover, detectable even by humans when a nest is disturbed.

Dark Western Drywood Termite

A drywood termite found in arid regions of the southwestern United States. It infests dead wood in desert trees and shrubs.

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Did You Know?

It commonly infests dead wood of palo verde trees and mesquite in the Sonoran Desert.