Camponotus darwinii

Drawn from the tropical heart of Madagascar, this carpenter ant stays active all year and never asks for a hibernation, so care holds steady from one month to the next. The clear size difference between minor workers and majors gives a maturing colony plenty of visual interest. Its intermediate rating comes down to wanting consistent warmth rather than being awkward to feed, so a keeper who can hold a stable temperature will find it straightforward. For anyone drawn to island fauna and reliable tropical heat, it grows into a satisfying mid-size colony.

Carbohydrates fuel the foragers, so a steady nectar feeder keeps the colony working, while insect prey is what the queen turns into brood. A couple of protein meals a week is enough to keep development ticking.

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

This Madagascan species runs on the dry side, so a ytong or aerated-concrete nest dampened to 40-60% with a generous arena gives it room to forage. Found the queen in a test tube and move her on only once the colony has clearly outgrown it, then scale toward a mid-size nest as the few thousand workers build up. Strong climbers, they work the walls, so block escapes with fluon, an oil barrier, or talc and water. ANTonTOP formicaria and starter kits make the tube-to-nest move simple.

As a tropical species it takes no winter rest, so keep it warm and feeding through the whole year. Hold the nest at 24-28 °C and give the arena a wide span of 21-35 °C, with nest humidity 40-60% and the arena at 30-50%. Heat one end so the ants can pick a warm or cooler zone along the gradient.

Founding starts slowly and accelerates as workers accumulate, settling at a mid-size colony of 3,000-5,000 workers. Your colony arrives as a laying queen with her workers and a patch of developing brood.

• The species honours Charles Darwin, one of many Madagascan insects named after him by early naturalists.
• Madagascar’s isolation has produced an ant fauna with a very high level of endemism, so much of the island’s Camponotus is unique to it.
• Carpenter ants excavate wood to nest but never consume it, and they rely on formic acid and a bite for defence.
• The visible size gap between small workers and larger majors is the genus’s characteristic polymorphism.

Is Camponotus darwinii good for beginners?

It is rated Intermediate and is best after a first colony, mainly for its warmth needs.

Does Camponotus darwinii need a winter rest?

No, it is tropical and active year-round.

Does Camponotus darwinii sting or bite?

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

How big can the colony get?

Around 3,000-5,000 workers.

How large is the queen?

The queen is 12-14 mm, with majors of 9-11 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Slow early on, faster once the first workers mature.

What does it eat?

Sugar water or nectar plus insects such as crickets and flies; no seeds.

How is it shipped?

As a queen with workers and brood, with a heat or cool pack, dispatched 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.