IDing Camponotus from Formica

[TheRealAntMan]

I've noticed that many people on this forum have a hard time distinguishing the difference between Formica and Camponotus. Usually Forimca is smaller than Camponotus but the larger Formica brood-raiders and social parasites can prove to be quite challenging to differentiate. for beginners. When identifying Camponotus from Forimca look at the workers' thorax from its side view (may sometimes require a close view). If the top of the thorax forms a single, unbroken curve you know you've got Camponotus. If however the worker's thorax has two, distinct curves it's Formica.


(Note: this only applies for workers only and not queens)

[toepick]

thanks!! love posts like this!!

[pvfsm1]

Thanks! Posts like this are great for me and others like me who are just starting!
Where can I find more information of this kind? I want to start to be able to differentiate between genus.

With this post I'm even more convinced that the ants I have are Camponotus.
Now I only need to know which species and for that I probably need better pictures.
But if you can have a look at my post maybe you can make a guess!
According to Antmaps.org (and assuming it really is Camponotus) I've narrowed it down to 17 Camponotus species
Probably using size alone I will be able to narrow it down even further.