The new queen breaks off her wings just before or after selecting a nesting site. Nest establishment Carpenter ants burrow into wood, not to feed but to make nests. Outdoors, the site selected for a new colony may be a stump, log, fence post, telephone pole, or similar large piece of wood. Wood that is moist or partially decayed is preferred, although cracks and crevices are frequently used as are cavities under the bark of stumps and logs. The dead, often hollow, heartwood portion of living trees is sometimes used.
Access is gained through a knothole, axe scar, decayed spots, insect tunnel, or similar defect.
Occasionally, however, a new queen establishes herself in existing cavities or void areas in wood that is perfectly dry. As a colony grows, so does its nest. Workers are constantly cutting galleries in the wood to accommodate the enlarging colony. These galleries are irregular but, in general, are excavated with the grain and follow the softer portions of the wood. Harder layers often remain as walls separating the many tunnels.