Florida Carpenter Ants (Camponotus floridanus), Knock on Wood, if they Click, you are at War

Story

Carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus in this case) live in wood, but contrary to what you would think, they do not eat wood, their diet consists of other insects, meat whenever they can get it, and sweet stuff including honey dew from aphids which they protect and harvest honeydew from. When I was photographing these little creatures at night, using my flash I noticed they didn't like it much, because they were both running around like crazy, and emitting a loud noise that sounded like loud clicks. It seems, this noise is their war call; in fact, pest control people identify carpenter ants by knocking on wood, and if they hear the clicking it means they are there. Three excellent resources on carpenter ants:

 

Date of sighting

21 Sep 2006

Location

Tampa, FL 33647
Camponotus floridanus - Carpenter Ants

Species

Camponotus floridanus