Camponotus brevis

If you want a carpenter ant that behaves itself while you learn, this Italian species is a friendly place to start. It is forgiving of beginner slips, founds without any help from you, and never asks for a winter rest, so the calendar stays simple all year. The compact workers make it a comfortable fit for smaller setups, and the colony grows at a steady, watchable pace rather than exploding overnight. A relaxed Mediterranean keep with very little that can go wrong.

Like all carpenter ants, the workers run on sugars and will happily work a steady nectar feeder, while the brood is built on insect protein. Offer something live or freshly killed a couple of times a week and the queen converts it straight into eggs.

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

Found the queen in a test tube and leave her until the first nanitics cover the floor, then move to a small moisture-holding nest such as ytong or plaster kept damp on one side at 50-70%. With a 2,000-worker ceiling a compact nest serves for a long stretch, so resist upsizing too early. These carpenter ants climb readily, so wipe the arena rim with fluon, an oil line, or talc and water. ANTonTOP formicaria and starter kits arrive as a matched nest, arena and barrier.

Give the nest 24-28 °C and let the arena sit a touch wider at 22-30 °C, keeping the nest fairly damp at 50-70% while the arena stays drier at 30-50%. Warm only one side of the setup so the ants can shuttle their brood to whichever spot suits it. No winter rest is needed here; the colony can carry on through the cold months, though you may notice it idling slightly when the room cools.

Founding is unhurried, as it is with most small Camponotus, then the pace lifts once the first batch of workers is out foraging. Over time the colony fills out to around 2,000 workers, a ceiling modest enough that one decent nest will see you through. Your colony comes as a laying queen with her workers and a patch of developing brood.

• Carpenter ants chew galleries into soft or damp wood to nest but never eat it, unlike termites; they only hollow it out.
• Instead of a sting, Camponotus workers bite and can spray formic acid from the tip of the abdomen, the standard defence across this subfamily.
• Workers carry a stretchy crop, a social stomach, and pass liquid food mouth-to-mouth so a single forager can feed dozens of nestmates underground.
• This is a small Mediterranean species, so even a mature nest stays compact and easy to house long-term.

Is Camponotus brevis good for beginners?

Yes, it is rated Beginner, small, and undemanding.

Does Camponotus brevis need a winter rest?

No, hibernation is not required, though it may slow a little in cooler months.

Does Camponotus brevis sting or bite?

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

How large does a brevis colony get?

Up to 2,000 workers, which keeps housing simple.

How large is the queen?

The queen measures 7.5-8.5 mm.

How fast does it grow?

At a moderate, steady pace typical of small carpenter ants.

What does it eat?

Sugar water or nectar plus small insects like flies and crickets; mealworms occasionally.

How is it shipped?

As 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.