Chestnut Carpenter Ants (Camponotus castaneus)
Camponotus castaneus (Chestnut Carpenter Ants) For Sale!
Camponotus castaneus is a large, shiny, orange species of carpenter ant which loves heat and grows quickly. They do have major workers! NOTE: Current colonies are Florida variant, meaning short diapause (hibernation). Though technically a 'carpenter ant', this species is soil nesting and will not damage your home!
STATES WITH CAMPONOTUS CASTANEUS FOR SALE: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Species Info
General: Camponotus castaneus is a large, easy-to-keep, beautiful species. Although worker development time can take long, colonies can grow quickly with heat and feeding. These ants do have majors!
It's important to keep a clean setup with these ants and make sure they have plenty of sugars. The workers should always (aside from diapause) be in a somewhat clean, warm environment with gasters full of sugars!Diet: These ants love sugars in the form of sugar-water or honey-water. They also usually need protein to grow in colony size, so provide proteins such as crickets, fruit flies and mealworms. Fruit flies seem to be a favorite. They can be fed at least once or twice a week. If workers don't have bloated gasters full of food, they should be fed more sugars! The queens do not need food during founding, as they are fully-claustral.
The most recommended diet with these ants is Sunburst for the workers and Fruit Flies for the brood. Feed as much as they will take, but make sure to feed through a liquid feeder or tinfoil. Don't allow excess food to build up in a test tube, as it could cause mold or create a sticky environment, unhealthy for the ants.
Temperature: These colonies benefit from a heating gradient, and at the hottest point it should be around 80. Ensure there is an area that is cooler. A nest environment of 77-78 seems to be ideal for brood development.
Diapause: This species could need a short diapause period. If they seem to slow down, cool them down to slightly cooler than room temperature for 1-2 months, and feed them less during that time too. The Florida (current) variant only needs about 4 weeks of hibernation, if any at all. Only diapause them if growth seems to slow during the winter.
Growth: Brood development takes around 7-9 weeks. Usually it will take about 8 weeks, if heated and fed properly. Colonies can grow quickly compared to other Camponotus, sometimes reaching dozens of workers or over a hundred within the first few months or year. These ants do grow slow compared to most other ants, and definitely require some patience!
Queen size: 16-20mm
Worker size: 8-12mm
Major size: 9-15mm
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SHIPPING INFO
Shipping happens from Monday-Wednesday. During the winter, shipping may cost more due to the need of a heat pack.