Camponotus maculatus subnudus

This is the Old World cousin of a well-loved African carpenter ant, and it carries the same appeal in a forgiving package. It grows large, develops clear caste contrast as the majors fill in, and asks for no winter rest, so day-to-day keeping stays simple. It also tolerates a fairly wide arena temperature, which means the odd warm or cool spell will not throw it off. For a first big tropical Camponotus that you can keep running all year, it is hard to fault.

A tropical carpenter ant with a broad omnivore diet: workers take sugars and honeydew for energy and hunt small insects to raise the brood. Keep a sugar source out at all times and offer insect prey a few times a week; seeds are ignored.

★★★ readily · ★★ moderately · ★ occasionally · ✗ not eaten

Start the colony in a test tube and transfer it when founding workers cover the floor and brood piles up. This warm, humid wood-nester thrives in a moisture-holding nest such as Ytong or a hybrid build with a damp chamber and a roomy arena, and since it can grow into the thousands you should size up gradually. Keep the rim treated with fluon, oil, or talc and water so foragers stay put. An ANTonTOP formicarium or starter kit supplies the matched nest, arena and barrier from founding to a busy colony.

No hibernation is needed for this tropical form, so keep it warm and feeding through every season. Run the nest at 20-26 °C and give the arena a wider 22-32 °C, with nest humidity 55-70% and the arena at 40-60%. A heat source at one end builds a gradient, which matters most here because the arena range is so broad and lets the ants self-select.

Expect slow but reliable Camponotus growth, helped along by steady warmth, building toward a final size of up to 10,000 workers. Consistent heat is what keeps brood development ticking over evenly month to month. You receive a mated queen along with workers and brood to carry the colony forward.

• This is the Southeast Asian form of the wide-ranging Camponotus maculatus group, separated as the subspecies subnudus.
• The major workers carry oversized heads that double as nest-door plugs and food-crushing tools.
• Carpenter ants tunnel through wood to build their galleries but feed on honeydew and prey, not the wood itself.
• All Camponotus carry the bacterium Blochmannia in their gut cells, a partnership that boosts the colony’s nutrition on a carbohydrate-heavy diet.

Is Camponotus maculatus subnudus good for beginners?

Yes. It is rated Beginner and needs no hibernation, keeping seasonal care simple.

Does Camponotus maculatus subnudus need a winter rest?

No. It is tropical and stays active and feeding all year.

Does this Southeast Asian carpenter ant sting or bite?

No, it has no sting and only a mild bite.

How big does a subnudus colony get?

Up to about 10,000 workers in a single-queen colony.

How large is the queen?

The queen is 17-19 mm; workers are 6-10 mm and majors 13-16 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Slow and steady like other Camponotus, faster with consistent warmth.

What do I feed it?

Sugar water or nectar plus crickets and flies; it does not eat seeds.

How is it shipped and will it arrive alive?

It ships as a queen with workers and brood plus a heat or cool pack, sent within 24 h with tracking for safe live arrival.

Escape prevention. Coat the inner rim of every open arena with fluon (PTFE), or use talc-and-water or an oil barrier as a backup, and keep a tight, fine-mesh lid on top. Check the barrier regularly, since dust, condensation and feeding debris break a fluon line over time. Keep tubing connectors tight and seal any gaps in the nest.

Keeping reminders. Always offer fresh water and never let the nest dry out completely. Give carbohydrates continuously and protein a few times a week, and remove uneaten insect prey within 24 hours before it moulds. Keep the formicarium out of direct sunlight and away from constant vibration, which stresses a young colony. A water-filled test tube plugged with cotton makes an ideal spare incubator whenever you need one.

Before you buy – do not rehouse too early. Have a test-tube setup or a small formicarium with an outworld and a working barrier ready before your colony arrives. A founding colony grows slowly at first, which is normal. Moving a small colony into a large nest too soon invites mould, mites and stress, and the workers die off one by one. Keep the colony in its open test tube on the arena, plug the nest entrance with cotton, and open up the next chambers only once the colony fills roughly 10-15% of the space.

What we ship. Every colony ships with a live-arrival guarantee, backed by our 24h unboxing-video guarantee: if the queen does not arrive alive, we reship free. Parcels travel with DHL, InPost (PL) or EMS, with a heat or cold pack to suit the season, packed discreetly and securely. We ship across the EU and worldwide, with free shipping over the Europe threshold.