Camponotus japonicus

Camponotus japonicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Camponotus
Species: C. japonicus
Binomial name
Camponotus japonicus
Mayr, 1866[1]

Camponotus japonicus, more often known under the common name Japanese carpenter ant, is a species of ant native to East Asia. It is black, and one of the largest ants. A nest has about ten to thousands of individuals, and it can be a pest when it enters households or protects aphids. There are several subspecies of this ant in different areas of Asia, with the largest of the species being located in Northern China.

Appearance

The queen is black, but has microscopic brown hair protruding from the thorax and abdomen. They are 17 millimeters long. Before mating, the queen has four transparent brown wings supported by brown veins. The 12-millimeter-long male has a longer and straighter antennae and a slimmer body. Unlike the workers, both the queen and the male has three ocelli.

The workers are divided into three subcastes based on their size, which varies from 6 to 15 millimeters. The largest subcaste of workers is also called the soldier.

Range

Camponotus japonicus inhabit a wide range, including Japan, Korea, Myanmar, the Philippines, China, Mongolia and Siberia.

References

External links

External identifiers for Camponotus japonicus
Encyclopedia of Life 469756


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.