Why is Camponotus Pennsylvanicus so common?!

[Batspiderfish]

There is a lot of conjectural and anecdotal information being thrown around here. Ant morphology is not as cut and dry as "being bigger means that you are better at fighting". Camponotus majors are just specifically evolved to defend their nests against other ants, and perhaps small vertebrates.

[MCWren]

There is a lot of conjectural and anecdotal information being thrown around here. Ant morphology is not as cut and dry as "being bigger means that you are better at fighting". Camponotus majors are just specifically evolved to defend their nests against other ants, and perhaps small vertebrates.

Really? I thought they were for large prey, carrying heavy stuff, and heavy digging, etc. Where did you learn this? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just wonder where.

[Batspiderfish]

There is a lot of conjectural and anecdotal information being thrown around here. Ant morphology is not as cut and dry as "being bigger means that you are better at fighting". Camponotus majors are just specifically evolved to defend their nests against other ants, and perhaps small vertebrates.

Really? I thought they were for large prey, carrying heavy stuff, and heavy digging, etc. Where did you learn this? I'm not saying you're wrong, I just wonder where.

I'm not saying that they don't do general foraging and nest maintenance, but their morphology lends itself to defense and food storage. What tasks an ant does for her colony is mostly determined by her age; only the old majors are foragers.

[SpeciesK]

I am just speculating, I don't know anything about ants to speak of. Could they be more likely to be able to live in human contact (like old buildings or wood piles or managed forests or whatever) so they are slightly selected for by nature?

[Martialis]

I am just speculating, I don't know anything about ants to speak of. Could they be more likely to be able to live in human contact (like old buildings or wood piles or managed forests or whatever) so they are slightly selected for by nature?

Maybe. Historically speaking, many animals (cows, sheep, dogs, cats) which have evolved to take advantage of human structures/contact tend to be more successful.