The carpenter ants with wings are the larger and social insect that resembles a winged termite. They primarily make their nest on wood but are not considered wood-destroying insects.
Again, the carpenter ant may be confused with the acrobat ant as they possess similar external features. But you will find the variation in nodes and size between carpenter and acrobat ants.
Here, I will discuss the interesting facts of the winged carpenter ants with their other external features.
Quick summary: a winged carpenter ant looks like a termite and has a great variety of colors on their body (yellowish-red, black, or reddish-orange). Both male and female carpenter ants may possess wings, but you may easily differentiate them with some of their external features.
So, if you want to know the details, interesting facts, and external features of the winged carpenter ants, let’s continue this article till the end. After completing this article, you will easily differentiate the winged carpenter ants from termites and acrobat ants.
Carpenter ants with wings
The carpenter ants with wings are the most common largest, and friendliest insect in the United States of America. You will find almost 18 species of carpenter ants in Texas, USA.
“The older worker carpenter ants don’t possess any wings. Typically, the winged carpenter ants are mostly female kings and female queens (used for reproduction).”
The black and red carpenter ants are most common and may be found in a house, tree, or other outdoor and indoor areas. But first, let’s see the external anatomical facts of the winged carpenter ants –
- Like other carpenter ants or insects, this winged carpenter possesses 3 distinct segments on their body (head, thorax, and abdomen),
- The average length of the winged carpenter ants is 6. 5 – 12.5 millimeters,
- The color of the winged carpenter ant may vary from yellowish red to solid black or a combination of red, black, and reddish-orange,
- There are total 12 segments in the antennae of the winged ants, where the first segment is larger compared to others,
- You will see the evenly rounded thorax that is divided into three segments,
- There is only one node (petiole) in between the thorax and abdomen of the winged carpenter ant,
- The abdomen of the winged carpenter ant is comparatively larger and possesses stripes (typically yellow or white),
- You will find small golden yellow hair on the legs and abdomen of the winged carpenter ants,
- But, you will not find any circle of hairs on the tip of the abdomen,
- There is also no active sting in winged carpenter ants,
As mentioned earlier, the feature might help you identify the winged carpenter ants. You may find a few winged carpenters in a single colony of carpenter ants.
Where are the wings in a carpenter ant?
As you see in the external anatomical facts of the winged carpenter ant, the wings are located in the thorax region. A winged carpenter ant possesses two pairs (4) of wings in their thorax.
That means you will find 2 pairs of wings on both sides of the thorax of a carpenter ant. The anatomical facts of the carpenter ant’s wings are somewhat different than the typical wings of others.
These wings help to fly the carpenter ants in the air during their breeding season. There are no other significant benefits of having wings on the carpenter ant.
“But wings may differentiate the female and male ants from the worker carpenter ants.”
Now, let’s see the functions of some of the external features of the winged carpenter ants –
- Antennae – help the winged carpenter ant to taste, feel, and smell,
- Compound eyes of winged carpenter ants – possess lots of lenses that provide a good detecting motion,
- Simple eyes of carpenter ants – see the dark and light color (but not details),
- Legs of winged carpenter ants – help to clean the antennae and walk,
- Hairs on the body – help the carpenter ants sense their environment,
You will also find spiracles (not grossly visible) on the carpenter ants that help to take oxygen. This is a hole-like vital structure in the winged carpenter ants, as they have no lungs.
Carpenter ants with wings male or female
You may have a question – do the winged carpenter ants male or female? Actually, the carpenter ants with wings may be both male and female.
The male of the winged carpenter ants is termed the kings. At the same time, the female winged carpenter ants are also known as the queen.
By their external anatomical features, you may easily identify the winged male carpenter ants from the queens. The below-mentioned article (previously published) might help you to differentiate the female winged carpenter ants from the male or worker ants –
The main differences between the male and female winged carpenter ants are found in the following external structures –
- Size of the male and female winged carpenter ants – the female is larger than the male,
- Head of the winged carpenter ants – head is larger in female winged carpenter ants,
- Antennae of the carpenter ants – it is comparatively small in female queen carpenter ants,
- Abdomen – is larger in the female queen ant compared to the male winged carpenter,
- Thorax of carpenter ants – well-developed and rounded in the female winged carpenter ants,
- Stings of the carpenter ants – the sting is not present in the female queen, but the male has inactive stings,
In most cases, the winged female queen loses their wings during the egg-laying period. But, the winged male kings always have wings.
Again, the male winged carpenter ants contain eggs on their abdomen, so it becomes larger compared to the winged male carpenter ants. I hope you will identify the winged male and female carpenter ants from the colony.
Is a carpenter ant with wings bad?
No, the carpenter ant with wings (winged carpenter) is not bad nor harmful. They are very friendliest ant species in the world and don’t harm people.
The winged male or female carpenters have no active sting on the end part of their abdomen. So, they (winged carpenter ants) cannot sting people or other animals.
But, when you find more winged carpenter ants in your areas (house, building, or yard), they may cause a boring situation. You know, the winged carpenter ants are only for reproduction purposes.
Like other ants, the male winged carpenter mate and die immediately after their job. But, the female winged carpenter queen ants are ready for egg laying and caring for their larvae, pupa.
Winged carpenter ant vs. others
At the beginning of the article, I told you that the winged carpenter ant looks like the winged termite. Again, the wingless or winged carpenter ants look like acrobat ants.
You may know the exact identifying features of the winged termite or acrobat ants. Thus, you can differentiate the winged male or female carpenter ants from the winged termite and acrobat ants.
So, here, you will learn 2 things –
- External features of the winged termite compared to the winged carpenter ants, and
- Winged or wingless acrobat ants compared to the winged or wingless carpenter ants,
Let’s start with the external anatomical features of the termite that might help you to differentiate the winged carpenter ants practically.
Carpenter ants with wings vs termites
Both the winged carpenter ants and termites show almost similar external features. But, as an entomologist or ants keepers, you might know the difference between their external body facts.
Both these insects (winged carpenter ants and termites) make their nest in the wood, but they don’t eat or destroy wood. You will find the distinct difference in the following external structures between the winged carpenter ant and termites –
- Antennae of the winged carpenter and termites,
- The structure between the head and thorax of these 2 insects,
- A junction between the thorax and abdomen of winged carpenter ants and termites,
- Size and pattern of the wings of both winged carpenter ants and termites,
- Features of the abdomen between winged carpenter ants and termites, and
- Small yellow or golden hair on the body,
Now, let’s see the pictures where I showed the winged carpenter ants and termites. You will easily understand their external difference from this ant and termite labeled picture.
Okay, I will compare the external features of the winged carpenter ants and termites in table 1 –
| Features | Winged carpenter ant | Winged termites |
| Antennae | Segmented Can bent at right angle | Bead – like segmented Straight, can’t bent |
| Head and thorax junction | Narrow Joint stability – less | Thick Joint stability – strong |
| Legs | Possess yellow hairs | No hairs |
| Middle part of body | Narrow Constricted | Thick Broad |
| Wings | Unequal in length Front pair longer | Equal in length |
| Vein on wings | Less veins on wings | More veins on wings |
| Abdomen | Rounded Larger | Longer Smaller |
| Hairs on body | Yellow or golden hairs | No hairs |
| Stripes | Stripes on abdomen | No stripes |
Now you will easily differentiate winged carpenter ants from termites. Let’s jump to the next section of this article, where I will distinguish the black and red-winged carpenter ants.
Winged black and red carpenter ants
There are no significant differences between the winged black and red carpenter ants. You will find the major variation in the size and color between the winged black and red carpenter ants.
The body of the black-winged carpenter ants is fully blackish. But, the winged red carpenter ant shows a reddish brown head, thorax, and a black abdomen.
The winged black carpenter ant’s size is about 6 – 12 millimeters. At the same time, the winged red carpenter ants are about 4 – 6 millimeters. So, the winged red carpenter is smaller than the black-winged carpenter ants.
Again, you will find fewer yellow or golden hairs on the thorax and abdomen of the black carpenter ants compared to the red carpenter. But, the stripes are more visible on the body of the black-winged carpenter ants than on the winged red carpenter ants.
Winged carpenter ant vs acrobat ant
Sometimes the winged or wingless red carpenter ants look like acrobat ants. Even these two ants make their nest on the wood.
You may easily differentiate the winged carpenter ants from the acrobat ants with the followings features –
- Size of the body (acrobat ant is smaller than the winged carpenter ant),
- The abdomen of the ants (acrobat ants have a heart-shaped abdomen),
- Nodes between thorax and abdomen (acrobat ants possess 2 nodes, whereas carpenter ants possess only 1 node), and
- Spine on the thorax (only acrobat ant shows the spine on the back of their thorax),
Let’s see these differences between the winged carpenter ants and acrobat ants from table 2 –
| Features | Winged carpenter ants | Acrobat ants |
| Size of the ants | 6 – 12 millimeters | 3.5 – 8.5 millimeters |
| Color | Black or reddish brown | Reddish brown |
| Abdomen | Rounded large | Heart-shaped |
| Nodes | Single (1) | Two nodes (2) |
| Spine | No spine on thorax | Spine on thorax |
| Stripes | Golden yellow | White stripe |
| Hairs | Yellow or golden | White hair |
Carpenter ants with wings in house
If you find carpenter ants with wings in the house, that indicates that the house has a problem like the moister, rotting wood, and other conditions. But, they can cause less damage to wooden furniture than termites or other insects.
Normally, the winged carpenter ants nest in a hollow tree, timbers, and other places outdoors. But, they also like to make their nest in the wooden furniture or wood used in your house.
So, it is normal to have winged carpenter ants in your house. If you want to control these winged carpenter ants from your house, you may follow the followings –
- You should correct the moisture problem in your house. For that, you should care about the leaking of the roof or water drainage issues from your house.
- Please replace all the termite-damaged wood and wooden debris from your house,
- You should provide better ventilation to the house and ensure the proper distance between the soil and wooden furniture,
If these don’t work, you may use insecticide or help from an expert.
Why do flying ants suddenly appear?
A single carpenter ant colony produces 250 – 350 winged males and females for reproduction. In the perfect environmental condition (spring and early summer), these reproductive ants emerge from their nest or colony.
Then these emerged winged carpenter ants (both male and female) swarms for several days to weeks. So, the flying carpenter ants suddenly appear in this time (during spring and early summer).
After mate, the female ant searches for the nesting site and is ready to lay eggs. Now, the female carpenter ants lay eggs and care for their larvae.
A colony of the carpenter ants can continuously produce winged reproductive ants (male and female). These winged reproductive carpenter ants remain in the nest in summer and winter.
But, they get ready for swarm in spring and early summer. As this is a continuous process in the carpenter ants colony, thus you will see the winged carpenter ants (flying ants) suddenly.
Pictures of carpenter ants with wings
Now, let’s see the winged carpenter ants pictures where I tried to show both male and female. Here, the picture shows the normal worker carpenter ant who lacks wings on its thorax.
Again, the picture shows the black-winged carpenter ants as well as the red-winged carpenter ants. I tried to identify all the external anatomical facts from the black-winged carpenter ants.
Different structures (features) from the head, thorax, and abdomen of the black-winged carpenter ants are identified in the picture. You will find more pictures of the black and red-winged carpenter ants here on social media of insect pet.
Frequently asked questions on winged carpenter ants
Now, I will enlist the common questions on the winged carpenter ants with a concise answer. But you should know the basics (anatomy, their habit, and others) of the winged carpenter ants from this article or another article on insect pets.
Okay, let’s see the common questions on the winged carpenter ants –
Are flying carpenter ants harmful?
Generally, flying carpenter ants are not harmful to people. They are reproductive ants and usually fly in spring and late summer to meet with each other (male and female).
Both these flying carpenter ants (male and female) don’t possess any active sting. Again, the mandible of these ants is not as strong as other ants.
These flying carpenter ants are considered the most clam insect and don’t harm others.
How do you get rid of carpenter ants with wings?
The carpenter ants with wings are not harmful, but they can make their nest in the wood that is used in the house. They can damage the wood of your house; thus, you need to control them.
To get rid of the winged carpenter ants, you should perform some practices. First, you should correct the leakage of the roof and control the water drainage system of your house.
This will improve the moisture content of your house and make an unfavorable condition for living the winged carpenter ants. Again, it would help if you replaced the old, destroyed, and dumpy wooden furniture from your house.
Why do I have carpenter ants with wings?
In the reproductive stage, male and female carpenter ants possess wings. You know, these male and female carpenter ants merge from their nest in this reproductive time.
Thus, you will find winged carpenter ants here and there, especially in your house or outdoors.
Do winged carpenter ants bite?
No, there is no evidence about the biting habit of the carpenter ants. They have less developed mandible and sting, so they will not bite or sting you.
Again, most of the winged carpenter ants are reproductive ants. And you know, these winged carpenter ants remain more clam in this period.
Do carpenter ants with wings eat wood?
No, the carpenter ants with the wing will not eat the wood. But, you will find their nest in the wood that is used in your house.
They love to stay in the decaying and damaged wood in your house.
Conclusion
You got the basic idea of black and red carpenter ants with wings. Again, the information provided in this article might help you to differentiate the male-winged carpenter ants from the female-winged carpenter ants.
At the same time, you will differentiate the winged carpenter ants from the winged termites and acrobat ants. Size, color, and other structural features are considered the main differentiating points to distinguish winged carpenter ants from termite and acrobat ants.
