The thorax and head are ash brown and the gaster is blackish, as in C. floridanus , but compact carpenter ants are smaller. There is one petiolar segment. This species is in the subfamily Formicinae, tribe Camponotini. As with all members of the Order Hymenoptera, the compact carpenter ant develops by complete metamorphosis, going through egg, larva, and pupa in silk cocoons and adult stages. Typically, a single queen will start a new colony, caring for her first larvae until they develop into workers, which then begin to forage for food.
Workers then care for the queen and new eggs and larvae.
The colony will continue to grow and will usually send out new winged reproductives, or alates, when the colony is two to five years old, depending on environmental conditions. Alates are usually observed from spring to fall, depending on the area and environmental conditions. As the compact carpenter ants increase in population and range, they are being noticed by wary homeowners more and more over the last few years, mostly foraging on exterior walls. Since this is a day-active ant, they tend to be observed more than other carpenter ants that tend to be nocturnal. Compact carpenter ants are rarely observed inside structures but have been seen entering under doors, cracks around windows and structural cracks and crevices.