Camponotus

Camponotus is a genus of ants, family Formicidae, subfamily Formicinae, commonly called carpenter ants, comprising over 1,500 described species as of 2025, the most species-rich genus of ants by described species, found nearly worldwide except in Antarctica and a few islands. Workers range in size from 4 to 7 millimeters in small species to 7 to 13 millimeters in large species, with queens measuring 9 to 20 millimeters and males 5 to 13 millimeters; the genus is distinguished by a single upward-protruding node at the waist, or petiole, between the thorax and abdomen, a continuous curved profile from the pronotum through the propodeum, and antennae bases separated from the clypeal border by at least the antennal scape maximum diameter. Despite the common name, only a few members, mostly in the subgenera Camponotus and Myrmentoma, actually nest in wood, excavating galleries without consuming the wood itself, unlike termites.