Camponotus quadrisectus

The draw here is the contrast within a single nest: as this Bornean carpenter ant matures, slim minor workers share the colony with broad, heavy-jawed majors, so a settled colony looks like a small society rather than one uniform group. It is a calm, undemanding species to observe, foraging openly during the day so you actually catch the action. The intermediate rating comes down to holding tropical warmth and a humidity gradient steadily rather than any tricky handling. A good choice once you have a starter colony behind you and want more visual interest from your second.

Like other carpenter ants, this Bornean species runs on sugars for day-to-day energy and switches to insect protein when there is brood to raise. Foragers will tend any sweet liquid on offer, while the majors help break down larger prey for the larvae.

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

Found the queen in a test tube and upgrade once the first workers cover the floor. This carpenter ant wants its nest end damp but never wet, so a moisture-holding Ytong or aerated-concrete formicarium with one hydrated chamber and drier outer galleries suits it, plus a roomy arena. These ants climb well, so line the rim with fluon (PTFE), oil, or talc and water. ANTonTOP formicaria and starter kits come as a matched nest, arena, and barrier ready for a growing colony.

This is a tropical ant, so warmth stays constant all year. Hold the nest around 24-28 °C and the arena at 22-30 °C, with nest humidity at 50-70% and the arena drier at 40-60%. Heat just one end so the colony can shuffle brood toward its preferred warmth. There is no winter rest to plan: keep feeding and heating through the cold months exactly as you would in summer.

Founding is unhurried, as it is with most Camponotus, and early progress is measured in weeks rather than days before the worker force starts to compound. Given time and steady warmth the colony works its way up to around 5,000 workers. You receive the queen together with her workers and brood, ready to settle straight into a nest.

• Camponotus is the largest ant genus on Earth, with well over a thousand described species, so quadrisectus sits in very crowded company.
• Carpenter ants carve their galleries out of soft or rotten wood but do not eat it, unlike termites; they simply remove it to make room.
• Instead of a sting, members of this genus defend the nest by spraying formic acid, a Formicinae trait.
• Many Camponotus carry Blochmannia, a bacterial partner living in their gut cells that tops up their amino acids and helps a lone queen raise her first brood with no outside food.

Is this a good ant for beginners?

It is rated Intermediate, so it suits keepers who already have one colony under their belt and understand heating and humidity.

Does the Bornean carpenter ant need a winter rest?

No, it is tropical and active year-round, so keep feeding and warmth steady through winter.

Does Camponotus quadrisectus sting or bite?

No, it has no sting; the worst you will feel is a mild bite.

How big can the colony get?

Up to 5,000 workers in a mature, healthy colony.

How big is the Camponotus quadrisectus queen?

The queen measures 15-17 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Carpenter ants grow slowly to moderately, with a patient founding phase before numbers pick up.

What do they eat?

Sugar water or nectar for energy plus insects like crickets and flies for protein.

Will it arrive alive?

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