Workers vary from about 5–14 mm; queens are typically around 14–17 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Camponotus herculeanus
A powerful boreal carpenter ant that turns damp timber into a protected city.
About this species
Hercules carpenter ant
Camponotus herculeanus(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Camponotus herculeanus is a widespread northern carpenter ant of coniferous and mixed forests. Colonies excavate galleries in damp or fungus-softened wood but do not eat it. Workers forage for honeydew and animal food while the wooden nest provides insulation in cold climates.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Formicinae · Camponotini · Camponotus
Accepted · checked 2026-07-15
Boreal North America and EurasiaBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
A broad Holarctic range across northern North America, most of Europe and northern Asia.
Boreal and montane conifer forest, mixed woodland, forest clearings and cool disturbed habitats with stumps, logs or moisture-damaged timber.
Workers forage from spring into autumn and are often active in the evening and at night, especially along tree trunks and aphid trails.
Honeydew from sap-feeding insects, plant exudates, carrion and captured arthropods provide carbohydrates and protein.
Large colonies may use a main nest in moist wood and warmer satellite nests nearby. Colonies can contain one or several queens.
What makes this species remarkable?
Carpenter ants excavate wood rather than digesting it; existing moisture and fungal decay make timber easier to hollow.
Satellite nests can separate brood stages and reproductives across different temperature and humidity conditions.
It is among the dominant ants of many northern and high-elevation forests, where few similarly large ant species thrive.
More photographs
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