Depending upon the species, a colony may have only one queen or they may have several. The colony protects the queen and she never leaves the nest. The larger major workers look for food and guard the nest. The smaller minor workers expand the nest and tend the eggs and larvae. A few times during the year, the queen produces winged males and females that leave the colony to start a new nest.
Pharoah ants are very tiny, about one millimetre long.
They are yellowish orange. Pharoah ants are often found in dwellings, bakeries and restaurants. Colonies nest in piles of clothes, between floorboards and in cracks and crevices. Colonies have several queens. Carpenter ants are large, measuring 13 millimetres long.