Carpenter Ants Vs. Black Ants (11 Ways To Tell Them Apart)

Seeing a black ant inside your home can cause concern about whether it’s just a harmless black ant or a potentially destructive carpenter ant. While ordinary black ants are merely a nuisance, carpenter ants can seriously damage your home’s structural integrity. Knowing how to tell the difference between carpenter ants vs. black ants is essential for effective pest management.

Carpenter Ants vs. Black Ants: Complete Comparison

Characteristics	Carpenter Ants	Black Ants
Image
Taxonomy: Genus & Species	Camponotus: Over 1,000 species Black carpenter ant: Camponotus pennsylvanicus	Lasius: 149 species Black garden ant: Lasius niger
Color	Red Orange Yellow Black Brown Red and black	Shiny black Dark brown
Size	Worker ants are about ½-inch (12.7 mm) long The queen is up to 1-inch (25.4 mm) long	Worker ants are about 0.12-inches (3 mm) long The queen is up to 0.35-inches long (9 mm)
Anatomy	One segmented petiole Smooth and rounded thorax	Unevenly-shaped, ridged thorax 1 or 2 petioles
Heads & Antennae	Heart-shaped heads with large jaws Antennae are elbowed with single node	Rounded heads 2 well-defined antennae with 3 nodes
Wings	Worker and queen are wingless Swarmers have a set of 2 wings, with the back ones shorter than the front	Some black ant species have wings, whereas others don’t If they do have wings, it is typically only 1 set
Delivery Method Of Toxins	Do not have stingers Use their large jaws to deliver an irritant called formic acid	Some species of black ants have stingers on their thorax The stinger inflicts venom
Habitat & Nesting	Found in forested parts all over the world in moist or hollowed wooden areas either indoors or outdoors Excavate wood for nesting	Found in a large variety of places: trees, wood structures, under piles of debris or ant hills in the ground, grasslands, or deserts Do not typically nest indoors but go inside for food
Behavior	Can be heard chewing in the walls inside Active in the spring or fall as they look for wood to nest in, including inside structures. Forage at night	Active in the summer months Gather food during the day and night in warm temperatures Go indoors to search for food to bring back to their outdoor colony (ant hill)
Damage Caused Inside	Extensively and negatively impact the structural integrity of man-made buildings Hollow out wood in support beams, wall voids, door frames, and so on	No damage, just a nuisance around food sources such as food debris, pet food, and more.
Lifespan	Average 6 to 12 weeks Queen lives up to 25 years	Average 1 to 2 years Queen lives 15 to 20 years

The best way to identify a carpenter ant is to examine its overall size and body shape. Carpenter ants can reach up to an inch long, have distinctive heart-shaped heads, and feature a smooth, rounded thorax (middle section).

Read on to learn more about correctly identifying carpenter ants vs black ants.

11 Differences Between Carpenter Ants & Black Ants

1. Taxonomy

Carpenter ants belong to the taxonomic genus Camponotus, consisting of over 1,000 species globally. Black ants belong to the genus Lasius and consist of 149 species.

Due to their color, black carpenter ants, Camponotus pennsylvanicus, are easily confused with black garden ants, Lasius niger.

2. Color

Carpenter ants are typically red, orange, yellow, black, or brown, and sometimes a combination like red and black.

Black ants are a shiny black color or a very dark brown.

3. Size

Ants are impressive creatures that can lift up to 50 times their body weight.

Carpenter ants are larger, with worker ants about ½-inch (12.7 mm) long and queens up to 1-inch (25.4 mm) long.

Common black ants tend to be smaller in size. Workers are about 0.12 inches (3 mm) long, and the queen is up to 0.35 inches long (9 mm).

4. Anatomy

All insects, including ants, have three main body parts: head, thorax (middle), and abdomen (end), covered with a hard exoskeleton made of chitin. There are slender stalk-like structures called petioles that connect the abdomen and thorax.

Carpenter ants have one segmented petiole with a smooth and rounded thorax.

Black ants have an unevenly-shaped, ridged thorax with 1 or 2 petioles.

5. Heads & Antennae

Ants have powerful odor receptors and antennae for navigating their world.

Carpenter ants have heart-shaped heads with large jaws, and their antennae are elbowed or bent in appearance with only one node.

Black ants have rounded heads with two well-defined antennae with three nodes.

6. Wings

Worker and queen carpenter ants are wingless. However, the swarmers have a set of 2 wings, with the back ones shorter than the front, and swarmer ants leave colonies to start their own.

Some black ant species have wings, whereas others don’t. If they do possess wings, it is typically only 1 set.

7. Delivery Method Of Toxins

Some black ants have stingers on their thoraces, such as fire ants or harvester ants, to inflict toxic venom.

However, carpenter ants do not have stingers and use their large jaws on their heads to deliver an irritant called formic acid.

8. Habitat & Nesting

Carpenter ants are found in many forested parts all over the world. They tend to prefer forest-like features, such as tree stumps. Carpenter ants are most commonly found indoors or outdoors in moist or hollowed wooden areas.

They excavate wood for nesting, which also aids in forest decomposition, leaving behind sawdust due to their excavation.

Carpenter ants typically are found in the walls of structures near wood, moisture, or leaky pipes, whereas black ants will roam around anywhere, especially near food.

Black ants are found in many places, and some habitats are species-specific.

They may nest in trees, wood structures, under piles of debris, or build ant hills in the ground, grasslands, or deserts. Black ants do not typically nest indoors.

Black ants are often found in colonies near food sources and help to aerate the soil, and are prey for animals such as birds and reptiles.

9. Behavior

It is important to note that carpenter ants do not eat wood and have a similar diet to other ants. This includes eating honeydew liquid from aphids, sweets, insects, other arthropods, and even pet food.

However, carpenters and black ants differ in their behavior and activity.

Generally, carpenter ants are active in the spring or fall as they look for wood to nest in, including inside structures, and typically forage at night.

If you think you have found a carpenter ant nest in your home, you can listen carefully through the wall and hear them chewing away.

Black ants are active in the summer months as they gather food during the day and night. If they go inside structures, they search for food to return to their outdoor colony.

10. Damage Caused Inside

While they are not harmful to humans, carpenter ants can extensively and negatively impact the structural integrity of man-made buildings. For example, they hollow out the wood in support beams, wall voids, door frames, etc.

Other issues often invite carpenter ants into a home, including leaky pipes or rotten wood. This ends up as significant repair costs.

Signs of Carpenter Ant Damage

Hollow-sounding wood

Sawdust piles (frass)

Smooth tunnels in wood

Black ants inside your home are just a nuisance. Typically, they seek food sources and can detect sweet or savory scent trails from food debris, pet food, and more.

11. Lifespan

Carpenter ants have a shorter life span but can reproduce quickly, keeping the colony strong. On average, carpenter ants live from 6 to 12 weeks but longer, up to 10 months, in colder climates.

The carpenter ant queen can live up to 25 years, laying thousands of fertilized eggs. It can take 3 to 6 years for carpenter ants to create a thriving colony.

Other ants can vary by species, but black garden ants live longer lives, from 1 to 2 years on average. In addition, queen ants can live incredibly long periods, from 15 to 30 years old.

Conclusion

Black carpenter ants and other black ants can look very much alike to the untrained eye.

However, if you take note of their body shapes, overall size, and area of activity, you can usually figure out which pest you have.

You’ll know it is a carpenter ant if you see an ant that is ½ to 1-inch long, with a heart-shaped head and a rounded thorax. Evidence of sawdust piles in wood structures also indicates carpenter ants are nesting.

Once you know which kind of ant you have, you can take proper and immediate action to eliminate them. This is especially important because different ant species require different methods of control. For example, if you’re searching for how to get rid of pharaoh ants, you’ll need to use baiting techniques rather than sprays, as sprays can cause the colony to scatter and form new nests. Identifying the correct approach will help ensure that the infestation is handled effectively and prevent future problems.