Camponotus floridanus
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Camponotus floridanus, or Florida carpenter ant, is a species of ant in the genus Camponotus. First described as Formica floridana by Buckley in 1866, the species was moved to Camponotus by Mayr in 1886. The ant is widespread in Florida and occurs as far north as North Carolina and as far west as Mississippi.
Camponotus floridanus is one of the most familiar ant species in Florida owing both to its large size and conspicuous coloration. Workers and queens are bicolored, having a reddish-orange head and a bright to dullish orange colored mesosoma and legs, contrasted sharply by a deep black gaster. Male alates of this species are more concolorous, primarily ranging in the rusty to cider oranges. Camponotus floridanus can be distinguished from its visually similar, but smaller relative Camponotus tortuganus by its wider than long head, smaller but stockier legs relative to the body, and overall stouter build.
Queens on average vary 14–16 mm in length, and the highly polymorphic workers can potentially attain similar lengths, with the largest majors reaching 11–13 mm. Minors and mediae are typically around 4–9 mm. Florida carpenter ants' native range... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Carpenter Ant sighting in Everglades National Park on a given day, based on 212 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 496 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Florida Carpenter Ant in Everglades National Park on a given day, against about 20% in June–August, October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Florida Carpenter Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Florida Carpenter Ant sightings, Everglades National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Big Cypress National Preserve (United States, about 20%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Camponotus
The closest relatives of the Florida Carpenter Ant that you can see in Everglades National Park (genus Camponotus, Carpenter Ants, Typical Sugar Ants and Allies) are Compact Carpenter Ant (about 10%), Six-Spotted Carpenter Ant (about 10%) and Camponotus inaequalis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Florida Carpenter Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Everglades National Park (212 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
