How to Identify Carpenter Ants & Ground Beetles

Identifying Carpenter Ants

• 1

  Measure their size. Carpenter ants are relatively large ants and range in size from 3/8 of an inch to 1/2 an inch. However, there are several species of ant you could easily mistake for carpenter ants based solely on size.

• 2

  Look at their waist and check if they have a single node between their upper and lower thorax. Similar species will often have two nodes.

• 3

  Check the shape of their upper thorax. Carpenter ants have a thorax with an evenly rounded upper surface while other species tend to have an uneven upper thorax.

Identifying Ground Beetles

• 4

  Check the color. Adult ground beetles are usually dark brown or black and shiny. Some, however, are iridescent blue or green.

• 5

  Look at its shape. Ground beetles look a little flattened and have small and slender legs.

• 6

  Investigate what they are hunting. Ground beetles are fierce predators and can eat several hundred caterpillars in a lifetime of 2 to 4 years. They prefer to live outside and hunt other insects, which are usually pests, such as caterpillars, root maggots, snails and moths. The fiery searcher, a type of ground beetle, has actually been introduced into areas such as Kentucky to control the populations of gypsy moth larvae. Cockroaches, on the other hand, do not hunt. They are just scavengers.

• 7

  Look for ground beetle larvae. Unlike cockroaches, female ground beetles lay their eggs outside in the soil, above ground or in small cavities, depending on the species. Cockroaches, however, hide their young deep inside their nests.