Photo by Laurel Hansen
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Colony propagation
Carpenter ants nest in wood, hollowing it out as the colony
expands. They prefer a moist or humid environment, but will
build in dry wood as well. The main part of the colony is
usually located outdoors in a dead or dying tree, fence post,
or firewood, but satellite colonies, consisting only of worker
ants, alates, and pupae may be found inside the home. Some
colonies have up to 20 satellites. Queens and brood are always
in the main nest. Colonies can have multiple queens.
Once a colony is a few years old and has more than 2000
workers, it will begin to produce new reproductives to start
new colonies. Winged males and females are produced in late
summer or early spring. Reproductives may also be produced
in the late summer and overwinter in the colony to emerge
for mating flights in spring. They fly to new locations,
where queens hollow out a nest and lay eggs. Infestations
are often just recognized during the first warm days of spring
when large winged ants emerge from walls or tree stumps.
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