Camponotus habereri

This is a Japanese carpenter ant kept on the warm side and active all year, so there is no dormancy to plan around and the colony keeps developing through the winter. Eggs hatch out in roughly eight weeks, which gives you a clear, readable brood cycle to follow as the nest grows, and nuptial flights fall across the warmer summer months. The workers spread in size as numbers climb, so a mature nest has real depth and variety. It needs consistent warmth and a bit of attention as it scales, making it a satisfying East Asian project for an intermediate keeper.

An omnivorous carpenter ant that lives on liquid sugars day to day and converts insect protein into brood. Keep a carbohydrate feeder available and offer protein through the week, stepping it up while the queen is laying steadily.

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

Keep the founding queen in a test tube, then shift to a Ytong or acrylic formicarium as the colony grows toward several thousand workers. Hold one nest area around 50-70% for the damp this wood-nesting species wants, with the arena a touch drier at 40-60%. Upgrade in steps rather than dropping a small colony into an oversized nest. Carpenter ants scale walls easily, so line the rim with fluon (PTFE) or talc and water. An ANTonTOP formicarium and starter kit bundle nest, arena and barrier.

Kept tropical-warm and active right through winter, with no cooling stage. Hold the nest at 24-28 °C and let the arena sit at 22-30 °C. Nest humidity stays at 50-70% while the arena runs a little drier at 40-60%. Heat one end of the setup so the colony settles the brood in the warmth and forages out into the cooler zone, rather than warming the whole nest at once.

Carpenter ants start slowly and then gather speed; with eggs taking around eight weeks to reach worker stage, progress is gradual on the way to as many as 5,000 workers. Each generation builds on the last. Your colony arrives as a laying queen with workers and brood, ready to keep developing once housed.

• It is one of the East Asian carpenter ants of Japan, part of the largest genus in the ant family.
• Carpenter ants take their name from excavating wood into nest chambers, which they hollow out without consuming the timber.
• Defence comes from formic acid sprayed from the abdomen tip; there is no sting in this group.
• Colonies maintain the bacterial partner Blochmannia in their gut cells, helping balance the nutrition the foragers bring in.

Is Camponotus habereri good for beginners?

It is Intermediate; founding is simple, but it needs warm year-round care as numbers climb.

Does this Japanese carpenter ant need a winter rest?

No. It is kept warm and active all year.

Does Camponotus habereri sting or bite?

No sting; a mild bite only.

How big does the colony get?

Up to 5,000 workers.

How large is the queen?

The queen is 14-16 mm, with workers 5-9 mm and majors 8-13 mm.

How fast does it grow?

Gradual, as eggs take about 8 weeks, so the colony builds steadily.

What do you feed habereri?

Sugar water or nectar plus insects like crickets and flies.

Will the ants arrive alive?

Yes. Queen, workers and brood ship with a heat or cool pack, sent 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.