Carpenter Ant (Camponotus) and Pheidole

_Camponotus laevissimus_ major worker with _Pheidole sp._ minor by her right front leg.

These photos are from a trip I took in June of 2005, to Pinetop, Arizona. I was looking for ants, and I had put out some cookie crumbs as bait. This particular location had both Camponotus and Pheidole ants at the bait. I got a real kick out of seeing these together because of the disparity in sizes between the ants.

In the photo above, you can see the Pheidole minor worker near the right front leg of the Camponotus major worker. The Pheidole is tiny next to the Camponotus. Comparing the two in size is a bit like comparing our size to that of a sparrow.

_Camponotus laevissimus_ major worker with _Pheidole sp._ minor by her right front leg.

The Camponotus were nesting in a nearby rotten log. I’m not sure where the Pheidole nest was.

_Camponotus laevissimus_ major worker

_Camponotus laevissimus_ major worker.

_Camponotus laevissimus_ minor worker

_Camponotus laevissimus_ minor worker

I think the Camponotus is Camponotus laevissimus, based on the information at Antwiki.org.

Taking photographs of them was difficult - their bodies were an extremely shiny, almost metallic, black color that strongly reflected light. They also had those shining white hairs on their gasters. This combination made it tough to get a good, relatively reflection-free exposure in the photos.