Chestnut Carpenter Ants (C. castaneus)
Camponotus castaneus is a large, shiny, orange species of carpenter ant which loves heat and grows quickly. NOTE: Current colonies are Florida variant, meaning short hibernation. Though technically a 'carpenter ant', this species is not wood nesting and will not damage your home!
STATES WITH CAMPONOTUS CASTANEUS FOR SALE: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, 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!
Diet: These ants love sugars. They also 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. The queens do not need food during founding, as they are fully-claustral.
Temperature: These colonies benefit from a heating gradient, and at the hottest point it should be around 82-85. Ensure there is an area that is cooler.
Diapause: This species might need a short diapause period. If they seem to slow down, cool them down to 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.
Growth: Brood development takes around 7-8 weeks. Usually it will take about 7 weeks, if heated and fed properly. Colonies can grow quickly, sometimes reaching dozens of workers or over a hundred within the first few months or year.
Queen size: 16-20mm
Worker size: 7-12mm
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.