Carpenter Ants (Lasius Fuliginosus)
Carpenter ants are found in Europe and Asia. One colony can have up to two million ants and has always more than one Queen, except at the beginning of a new colony. They do not have ant hills, but build their comb-like nests inside of deadwood. The ants gnaw passageways into the wood and build their nest within those passageways with a substance, mostly made out of wood and sugar. To reinforce their nest, they breed a certain mushroom inside the nest. Their nutrition consists mainly of a honey-like substance, which the ants collect from aphid colonies. If necessary, they supplement their nutrition with insects. Because carpenter ants need deadwood and therefore also infest construction wood of buildings, they are considered to be vermin.
