There are dozens of ant species that live in Canada!

Trying to list them all would be impossible. 🙂

Below are the most common and abundant types of ants, which are part of the insect family Formicidae.

5 ANT SPECIES in Canada:

#1. Eastern Black Carpenter Ant

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Adults are dull black and have distinctive white or yellowish hairs on their abdomens.
The largest workers are 0.2-0.6 inches (0.5-1.6 cm) long.
Non-worker reproductive males and females have wings.

Black Carpenter Ants are one of the most common ants in Canada.

You can find them in grasslands, deciduous forests, and urban and suburban areas. As their name suggests, they prefer to build their nests in wood, often using decaying logs, deciduous trees, or wood structures.

Eastern Black Carpenter Ants aren’t picky eaters and feed on other insects, trash, nectar, fruit, and fungi.

These ants are surprisingly long-lived! While reproductive males usually die shortly after mating, workers may live for seven or more years. Queens can live for over ten years.

#2. Immigrant Pavement Ant

Tetramorium immigrans

Workers are dark brown to blackish.
They have longitudinal, parallel ridges on their head and thorax.

Immigrant Pavement Ants thrive in urban areas of Canada. These European natives like building underground nests in areas with little vegetation. Consequently, you’ll often see them nesting near sidewalks, patios, foundations, and pavement.

Each of about 1000 ants defends a territory of around 460 square feet (43 m2). It’s common to see colonies battling for territory boundaries, especially in spring, as new colonies are established. The workers also forage for honeydew excreted by aphids, seeds, insects, fruit, and human food like bread and cheese.

Gardeners may be happy to see immigrant pavement ants around their property since they are significant predators of coddling moth larvae, a major agricultural pest in North America.

#3. Odorous House Ant

Tapinoma sessile

Odorous House Ant (Tapinoma sessile) — Photo by judygva

Adult workers are usually a uniform color ranging from brown to black.
They have a distinct rotten odor when crushed.

Odorous house ants are incredibly widespread because they can adapt to nearly any habitat in North America. They tolerate various habitats from sea level to 13,000 feet (4000 m) of elevation and occupy urban areas, forests, grasslands, bogs, and sandy coastal areas.

These ants are also commonly seen in homes in Canada.

And they aren’t just searching for a comfortable place to live; odorous house ants love sweets! In the wild, they tend to feed on aphid honeydew and flower nectar, but they will gladly take advantage of human food when available.

They often nest outside on stumps, rocks, matted grass, and other debris but use cracks and termite-damaged wood found in homes. Interestingly, these nests aren’t stationary.

Odorous house ants tend to move their nests about every 21 days. They also tend to coexist peacefully with other ant species rather than strictly defend a territory.

#4. New York Carpenter Ant

Camponotus novaeboracensis

New York Carpenter Ant (Camponotus novaeboracensis) — Photo by bugeyedbernie

Workers are large and may grow up to 0.62 inches (16 mm) long.
Their abdomens and heads are black, while their thorax or body is red or reddish-brown.
Their legs are a dark reddish-brown.

New York carpenter ants may be the fastest-growing ant species in Canada! They occur in moist woodlands, on the edges of bogs, and in wetlands. As their name suggests, they prefer to build their nests in wood. Usually, they create tunnels in stumps, logs, or old houses.

While they don’t eat wood, only tunnel and nest in it, they have voracious appetites! New York carpenter ants will feed on almost anything they find, including carrion, beetle larvae, honeydew, flower nectar, human scraps, and other insects like roaches and fruit flies.

Watch the video below to see them collect honeydew from aphids!

#5. Western Thatching Ant

Formica obscuripes

Western Thatching Ant (Formica obscuripes) — Left photo by pileated

Most workers typically have reddish-orange heads, reddish-orange or black chests, and black abdomens.
Small workers may be all black or dark brown.
They have one node between their upper body and abdomen.

These are the only ants in Canada that build thatched roofs for themselves!

Western thatching ants create huge dirt mounds, but rather than leaving them bare like many species, they cover them with a layer of twigs, grasses, and other small pieces of plant material. Precisely what they use depends on their location.

These thatched roofs allow them to survive a wide variety of temperature, humidity, and weather conditions. The size of the colony’s mound generally depends on its age. Those of mature colonies regularly reach 18 inches (45 cm) tall, but even taller mounds aren’t uncommon!

Take a closer look at this astonishing species in the video below.

Did you like learning about the ants that live in Canada?

Check out these ID guides focusing specifically on different insects and arachnids in Canada.

Do you need additional help identifying ants in Canada?

If so, check out this excellent ID guide!

National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects of North America

5 Types of ANTS found in Canada!