. Eastern forest insects. Forest insects. pale yellowish and ashy pubescence. Body hairs are suberect or erect, yellowish, and moderately abundant. The black carpenter ant does not eat wood. It simply removes it in order to produce galleries which serve as its nest. Its natural food consists largely of dead and live insects, honeydew, sap, juices of well-ripened fruits, and refuse. It also feeds on various household foods such as different kinds of sweets, raw and cooked meats, and fruits. Live trees are occasionally infested but usually only when the ants are able to enter them through cracks
. Eastern forest insects. Forest insects. pale yellowish and ashy pubescence. Body hairs are suberect or erect, yellowish, and moderately abundant. The black carpenter ant does not eat wood. It simply removes it in order to produce galleries which serve as its nest. Its natural food consists largely of dead and live insects, honeydew, sap, juices of well-ripened fruits, and refuse. It also feeds on various household foods such as different kinds of sweets, raw and cooked meats, and fruits. Live trees are occasionally infested but usually only when the ants are able to enter them through cracks, scars, knot holes, and decayed or other faulty places. Once inside the tree, they remove the faulty wood and often extend their galleries into adjacent soundwood. A wide variety of trees such as poplar, cherry, white and pitch pine, balsam fir, elm, willow, and red, white, scarlet, black, and post oaks have been found infested. Infestations fre- quently are located near the base but may occur very high in a tree. Infested trees are often subject to serious injury. They are frequently weakened to the point that they are subject to wind- breakage. The wood also may be rendered worthless for lumber or pulpwood (fig. 200). Houses also are often invaded by carpenter ants coming from nests located nearby outdoors. Possibilities of this happening are greatest where houses are located in the vicinity of trees, logs, or stumps. Entry is usually gained through openings around the foundation or from tree branches in contact with the house. The woodwork may be attacked in any number of places, but the most commonly damaged parts are supporting timbers, porch pillars, sills, girders, joists, studs, window casings, and external trim. The galleries are similar to those constructed by termites. They differ in that they run across the grain, are sandpaper smooth, COURTESY CONN. AGR. EXPT. STA. Figure 199.—Black carpen- ter ant, Camponotus penn- sylv aniens: A, Adult winged female; B, adult
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodive, booksubjectforestinsects
