Camponotus camelinus

This is a species kept for looks as much as anything: the workers are big and richly glossy, and the visible difference between minors and majors gives a mature colony real presence on a shelf. It comes from Bornean rainforest, so it rewards a keeper who can hold steady tropical warmth and humidity without letting things swing about. Being diurnal, it works through your day rather than hiding at night, so there is plenty to observe. The intermediate rating reflects those climate needs more than any difficulty in raising it, which makes it a satisfying second or third colony.

Carbohydrates drive the daily foraging, so a constant nectar or sugar feeder keeps the workers active, while insect prey is what the queen turns into brood. A couple of protein feeds a week is plenty to push development along.

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

This Bornean rainforest species needs steady moisture, so once the queen has raised her first workers in a test tube, graduate her to a ytong, aerated-concrete or hybrid nest holding 50-70% on one side. Upgrade when the founders crowd the chamber, usually around 40-50 strong, choosing a nest you can rehydrate without flooding the brood. Big majors climb strongly, so keep a fluon, oil, or talc-and-water line on the rim. ANTonTOP formicaria and starter kits are sized for this genus.

This is a humidity-loving rainforest species, so keep nest humidity at 50-70% and the arena drier at 30-50%, with the nest at 24-28 °C and the arena at 22-30 °C. Warm a single end of the setup so the colony can settle along a temperature gradient rather than being heated all over. As a tropical species it gets no winter rest, so keep it warm and active the whole year round.

Expect a slow founding phase, then a clear acceleration once the first workers are out and bringing in food, building toward several thousand workers in a mature nest. You receive a laying queen with her workers and a batch of brood ready to continue the colony.

• Borneo’s lowland rainforests are one of the richest ant habitats anywhere, and large arboreal Camponotus like this are a conspicuous part of that fauna.
• Carpenter ants nest in dead or living wood by excavating chambers, never by eating the timber.
• The genus belongs to the formic-acid subfamily, so defence is a bite plus an acid spray, not a sting.
• Workers are active in daylight, which makes the strong size difference between minors and majors easy to watch in a lit arena.

Is Camponotus camelinus good for beginners?

It is rated intermediate, so it fits a keeper who has founded one colony before, but it is not difficult with steady tropical warmth.

Does Camponotus camelinus need a winter rest?

No, it is tropical and stays active year-round, so keep it warm and keep feeding.

Does Camponotus camelinus sting or bite?

No, there is no sting, only a mild bite.

How big does the colony get?

A mature colony reaches several thousand workers.

How large is the queen?

The queen measures 17-18 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Founding is slow, then growth speeds up once the first workers emerge.

What does it eat?

Sugar water or jelly for energy and insects like crickets and flies for protein; seeds are not eaten.

Will it arrive alive?

We ship a queen with workers and brood, with a heat or cool pack, dispatched within 24 h with tracking.

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.