Life Stages of a Carpenter Ant

Egg

• Winged male and female reproductive ants swarm during spring and summer months to mate. The queens become mated for life and the males die within two weeks of mating. The queen loses her wings and searches for a suitable nest. She will spend the rest of her life underground laying eggs, which will become wingless worker ants. The egg cycle lasts for approximately 24 days, during which the queen draws upon her fat stores to nourish her body and incubate her eggs. Each batch consists of 15 to 20 eggs. Should the queen die, workers will produce eggs that become males.

Larva

• Carpenter ant eggs hatch into worker ant larvae. Larvae are white, eyeless, legless and grub-like and will molt several times throughout their growth. These immature worker ants are not capable of fending for themselves and must remain underground while they develop. Worker ants transport, feed and groom the larvae. The larval stage lasts for approximately 20 days.

Pupa

• The pupal stage of a carpenter ant's life is when metamorphosis occurs. The larva attaches itself to a solid surface within the chambers of the nest. It spins a silk-like cocoon around itself to protect it during its development. The pupa is tan and capsule-like in appearance and will produce an adult worker ant within approximately 21 days. Fellow worker ants must help the larvae from their pupal cases in order for them to emerge properly.

Adult

• Mature worker ants consist of wingless males and sterile females. Each worker plays a role in excavating tunnels, propagating the nest, caring for pupae and larvae, foraging for food and defending the nest. Carpenter ants are polymorphic, meaning that they can be more than one size. The larger, major workers defend the nest while the small minor workers search for food and care for the young. Worker carpenter ants do not mate and can live for up to seven years. The queen of a nest can live for up to 15 years and produces over 2,000 workers over a three to six year time span, on average. After 2,000 workers have been produced, the queen will lay between 200 and 400 winged ants that will mate and start new colonies.