Camponotus vagus

Camponotus vagus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Genus:	Camponotus
Species:	C. vagus
Binomial name
Camponotus vagus (Scopoli, 1763)

Camponotus vagus is a species of large, black, West Palaearctic carpenter ant with a wide range that includes much of Europe, a large area of Asia, and part of Africa.

Camponotus vagus is a relatively distinctive species that is easily identified by its large size, uniform black colour, and the long and dense body "hairs" on its exoskeleton. A eusocial insect, individuals have continuous allometric variation in size and morphology to facilitate task allocation and partitioning of work. Workers are 6–12 mm in length. The larger "major workers" act as guards for in defence of the colony and protect the smaller "minor workers" when the latter go foraging outside the nests. The powerful mandibles of the major workers are capable of decapitating smaller arthropods captured as food and dismembering smaller ants of other species.

C. vagus is known to be both carnivorous and aphidicolous (living in a mutualistic relationship with aphids and feeding upon the honeydew these smaller insects release from the terminations of their alimentary canals).

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Wikipedia