Variable Carpenter Ants (Camponotus vicinus)

General: Camponotus vicinus is a large, beautiful species of Camponotus from the western United States. Colonies are large, opportunistic, and polymorphic. They’re a great beginner species!

Diet: These ants love sugars in the form of sugarwater or honeywater. They also need protein to grow in numbers, so provide proteins such as crickets, fruit flies and mealworms. Fruit flies seem to be a favorite. They should be fed at least twice a week, or every other day. As the colony grows larger and larger, feed them more often.

Temperature: These colonies benefit from a heating gradient. At the hottest point it should be around 82-86, but be sure to make sure part of their living area is cooler. If you heat them in the test tube, heat the front of the tube instead of the water reservoir to avoid floods.

Diapause: This species requires a diapause period, which should last ~2-3 months ideally. During this time, the ants need to be cooled down to a low temperature, with around 40 degrees fahrenheit being ideal. You can achieve diapause by placing the ants in a controlled cooling unit, such as a wine cooler, mini fridge, or regular fridge if temperatures are safe. If you cannot use any of these, a non-heated room which stays above freezing could work.

Growth: Brood development takes around 6-8 weeks. Usually it will take 6-7 weeks, if heated and fed properly. Colonies can usually reach above 100 by the 2nd year!

Queen size: 14-17mm

Worker size: 5-9mm

Major size: 9-12mm

If ants arrive in bad condition, contact us for help. Live arrival is guaranteed.