Carpenter Ants (Camponotus) | AntsCanada Tutorial

Summary

This video offers an in-depth guide for aspiring ant keepers on caring for Camponotus ants, a diverse and complex genus known for their notorious structural damage but cherished by enthusiasts for their impressive size and resilience. The script details the biology, habitat, and lifecycle of these ants, emphasizing the patience required for their slow development. It provides practical advice on housing, hydration, diet, and colony growth, highlighting the unique polymorphic nature of workers and the importance of proper care for a thriving colony.

Takeaways

• 🐜 Carpenter ants are large, widespread, and come in various shapes and sizes, with polymorphic workers from super majors to small miners.
• 🏠 Many people seek to eradicate carpenter ants due to the structural damage they can cause to homes and buildings, but some ant enthusiasts keep them as pets.
• 📚 The genus Camponotus is highly complex with over 1,000 species and nearly 500 subspecies, making it one of the largest ant genera.
• 🌏 Carpenter ants are globally distributed and can be found in diverse habitats, including forests, deserts, mountains, and tropical rainforests.
• 🏡 The care for most commonly kept carpenter ants is similar, regardless of the specific species, starting with a test tube setup for the queen.
• 👑 Carpenter ant queens are fully-claustral, meaning they do not require food while raising their first set of workers.
• 🕊️ It's recommended to move a carpenter ant colony into a formicarium only when it reaches 20 to 50 workers, which might take up to a year.
• ⏳ Camponotus ants have a longer development time compared to other ants, and their growth can be slow, requiring patience from the keeper.
• 🌡️ Heating one side of the nest can help speed up the growth of the colony, but it's important for the ants to be able to thermoregulate.
• 🍽️ Carpenter ants require a diet that includes both protein sources like insects and carbohydrates like honey or sugar water.
• 🔄 The colony will produce different types of workers, including miners and majors, and may start to produce alates by the second or third year.

Q & A

What are carpenter ants known for?

Carpenter ants are known for their large size, presence in various habitats, and their notorious reputation for causing structural damage in homes and buildings. They are also popular among ant enthusiasts for their potential as pets.

What is the scientific genus of carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants belong to the genus Camponotus, which is highly complex and diverse.

How many species and subspecies of Camponotus ants are there?

There are over 1,000 species and nearly 500 subspecies of Camponotus ants, making it potentially the largest ant genus.

What are the common carpenter ants found in Toronto, Canada?

The most common carpenter ants in Toronto, Canada, are the black carpenter ants (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) and the red and black carpenter ants (Camponotus novaeboracensis).

What is the initial housing recommendation for a captured carpenter ant queen?

The initial housing for a captured carpenter ant queen is a test tube setup, which is the best way to start a colony.

Why should you not move a carpenter ant colony into a formicarium immediately?

You should not move a carpenter ant colony into a formicarium immediately because they require time to grow and develop. It's recommended to wait until the colony reaches 20 to 50 workers, which may take up to a year.

How long does it take for a carpenter ant to develop from egg to worker?

It takes about two months for a carpenter ant to develop from egg to worker.

What is the typical timeline for a carpenter ant colony to grow?

The typical timeline involves catching a queen in June, having her lay eggs and raise workers over the next few months, and reaching 20 to 50 workers by the following May or June. Significant growth and population explosion can be expected by the third year.

How do carpenter ants manage their hydration needs in their nest?

Carpenter ants require a hydration gradient in their nest, with only a small part of the nest being moist and the majority being dry. They do not do well in wet nests.

What is the diet of carpenter ants?

Carpenter ants have a diet that includes both protein sources like freshly killed insects and carbohydrates in the form of sugars, honey, or fruits.

What is the significance of the polymorphic nature of carpenter ant workers?

The polymorphic nature of carpenter ant workers means they vary in size, with some being small and associated with brood care and nest duties, while others can be large majors and super majors specializing in cutting things up.

What is the role of alates in a carpenter ant colony?

Alates are winged reproductive ants that appear in the colony by the second or third year. However, in captivity, they fail to fly due to the lack of environmental cues needed for nuptial flights.

Outlines

00:00

🐜 Introduction to Carpenter Ants and Their Care

The script begins by introducing the ubiquitous and diverse carpenter ants, known for their structural damage but also as fascinating pets for ant enthusiasts. It focuses on the genus Camponotus, which is vast with over 1,000 species and 500 subspecies. The video aims to guide viewers on how to care for these ants, from catching queens to establishing colonies. It emphasizes the patience required due to the ants' long development time and the importance of proper housing, starting with test tubes and eventually moving to a formicarium when the colony reaches 20 to 50 workers. The video also touches on the ants' habitat, common species in various regions, and the necessity of respecting their biological clock for hibernation.

05:01

🌱 Growth Timeline and Housing Requirements for Camponotus Ants

This paragraph delves into the specific timeline and housing needs for growing a Camponotus ant colony. It outlines the process starting from catching a queen in June, through the slow development of workers over the winter, and the eventual move to a formicarium when the colony is strong enough. The script highlights the importance of patience, as it may take up to a year before the colony is ready for a formicarium and two to three years to see a significant population growth. It also addresses the ants' preference for moderately dry environments and the benefits of a warm room for faster colony development. Additionally, it mentions the ants' dietary needs, emphasizing a varied diet of both protein and carbohydrates.

10:02

🍽 Feeding and Behavioral Insights of Carpenter Ants

The final paragraph of the script discusses the diet of carpenter ants, which includes both protein sources like insects and carbohydrates like honey or fruits. It stresses the importance of offering a variety of foods to ensure the ants receive all necessary nutrients. The paragraph also covers the ants' polymorphic nature, with workers varying greatly in size and role within the colony. It explains the emergence of majors and super majors in larger colonies and the production of alates, which, despite not being able to fly in captivity, can be released for mating in the wild. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to engage with the community, subscribe to the channel, and explore additional resources for ant keeping.

Keywords

💡Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are a type of ant belonging to the Camponotus genus. They are known for their size and the damage they can cause to structures by burrowing through wood. In the video, they are the main subject, with the focus on how to care for them as pets. The script mentions that they are polymorphic, with workers varying in size, and that they are notorious for causing structural damage, but for ant enthusiasts, they are a dream come true to keep.

💡Polymorphic

Polymorphic refers to the occurrence of different forms or stages in an organism's life cycle. In the context of the video, it describes the workers of carpenter ant colonies, which vary in size from small miners to large majors. This polymorphism is a key characteristic that makes these ants interesting to study and observe.

💡Camponotus

Camponotus is the scientific name for the genus of carpenter ants. The script mentions that it is an extremely large and complex genus with over 1,000 species and nearly 500 subspecies. Understanding Camponotus is essential for anyone interested in keeping carpenter ants as pets, as it provides insight into their diversity and natural habitats.

💡Nuptial Flights

Nuptial flights are the mating flights of winged ants, known as alates, which occur at certain times of the year. In the script, it is mentioned that many viewers have caught Camponotus queens during their nuptial flights, which is the starting point for beginning a new ant colony.

💡Formicarium

A formicarium is an artificial nest or habitat designed for keeping ants as pets. The video discusses the transition of an ant colony from a test tube setup to a formicarium, which is a significant step in the growth and development of a carpenter ant colony. The script emphasizes waiting until the colony reaches a certain size before making this move.

💡Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals during winter. The script explains that carpenter ants hibernate, ceasing growth and development during this period. This is an important aspect of their life cycle that pet ant keepers need to understand and accommodate.

💡Majors and Super Majors

Majors and super majors are terms used to describe the larger, specialized workers within a carpenter ant colony. The script mentions that these ants have large heads and are responsible for cutting things up. They appear in the colony as it grows and develops, becoming more common in the second or third year.

💡Alates

Alates are winged reproductive ants that are produced by colonies for the purpose of mating and starting new colonies. The video script notes that carpenter ant colonies will start to produce alates by the second or third year, although they do not fly in captivity.

💡Hydration Gradient

A hydration gradient refers to a variation in moisture levels within an ant's nest. The script advises that carpenter ants prefer a nest with a gradient, where only a small part is moist while the majority is dry, reflecting their moderate moisture needs.

💡Outworld

An outworld is an external area connected to the main ant nest, used for foraging and waste disposal. The video script discusses the benefits of having a large or multiple outworlds for carpenter ants, as they enjoy traveling and will use these spaces for food and waste management.

💡Diet

The diet of carpenter ants includes both protein and carbohydrate sources. The script explains that they eat freshly killed insects for protein and sugars or fruits for carbohydrates. Providing a varied diet is crucial for the health and nutrition of pet carpenter ants.

Highlights

Carpenter ants are notorious for causing structural damage in homes and buildings but are fascinating as pets for ant enthusiasts.

The Camponotus genus, which carpenter ants belong to, is highly complex with over 1,000 species and nearly 500 subspecies.

Carpenter ants are globally distributed and can be found in a variety of habitats, from forests to deserts and tropical rainforests.

Only a small number of Camponotus species are common pests, while the rest inhabit diverse ecological niches.

Care for carpenter ant colonies begins with placing the queen in a test tube setup, which is crucial for starting a new colony.

Carpenter ant queens are fully-claustral and do not require food during the initial stage of raising their first workers.

Moving a carpenter ant colony into a formicarium should be delayed until the colony has 20 to 50 workers, which may take up to a year.

Carpenter ants take longer to develop than most ants, with an egg-to-worker development period of two months.

The queen lays eggs in batches with periodic breaks, affecting the rate at which a colony grows.

A typical timeline for a Camponotus colony includes catching a queen in June, reaching 5-20 workers by winter, and moving to a formicarium the following spring.

Carpenter ants require a warm environment to grow and develop, with heating recommended for one side of the nest for thermoregulation.

Carpenter ants are polymorphic, with workers varying greatly in size, from small miners to large majors and super majors.

A balanced diet for carpenter ants includes both protein sources like insects and carbohydrates like honey or sugar water.

Carpenter ants do not eat wood; instead, they create tunnels by breaking off wood fibers.

Maintaining the right hydration level in the nest is crucial, with a preference for a dry environment with a moist gradient.

Carpenter ant colonies can grow to thousands of workers by the third year, with the appearance of majors and possibly alates.

Ant keepers can support species propagation and the environment by allowing alates to mate during the nuptial flight season.

Raising a carpenter ant colony from a single queen is more fulfilling and less risky than collecting wild colonies.

For those interested in purchasing a formicarium, the video recommends specific products for carpenter ants when the colony reaches the appropriate size.

Transcripts

They're huge! They're found everywhere. They come in different shapes and sizes

The workers are polymorphic [they vary in size] with huge super majors down to small miners.

Most people in the world are seeking ways to eradicate them because they're notorious for the structural damage they caused in homes and buildings

But for us ant lover's these tough and well-built ants are a dream come true to keep as pets

Presenting the infamous carpenter ants belonging to the highly complex genus known as Camponotus.

Now I've waited for this day to release this video because I know so many of you in North America, Europe, and Asia

Managed to catch Camponotus queens during their nuptial flights this year and many of you guys are starting to welcome your very first

nanitics, your first round of workers in your founding test tubes

Congratulations by the way

So I wanted to create a video on how to care for Camponotus ants and give you a background on them

So you know what to expect and be pro Camponotus ant keepers?

Today's episode is about how to keep carpenter ants as pets

Let's start by taking a look at carpenter

Ant biology for ant taxonomists ie those guys whose job it is to name and classify ant species

Camponotus is an extremely large and complex genus. At the present there are more than

1,000 species and nearly 500 subspecies belonging to 45 sub Genera of Carpenter ants

According to Wikipedia it could well be the largest ant genus of all.

Take a look at this list. Look at how many species belong to the genus Camponotus?

Amazing right? Now it should be noted that only a small handful of these ants are the ones you find in your homes as pests

The rest are found in various other habitats in Forests deserts

Mountainous regions tropical rainforests

In fact take a look at this map which shows all the areas where Camponotus ants can be found. They're globally distributed

And are found in almost all areas of the world. Where I live in Toronto Canada the most common carpenter ants are

black carpenter ants also known as Camponotus Pennsylvanicus and my favorite the red and black carpenter ants

Camponotus Novaeboracensis. There are so many kinds of carpenter ant species and it can be tricky to

identify them with accuracy if you're not privy to ant classification

But lucky for us ant keepers the care of most commonly kept carpenter ants is very similar if not the same

Let's start with housing. What you house your carpenter ants in depends on what stage of colony development they're at.

So let's start with when you first catch your carpenter ant queen. If you've been a subscriber to this channel for quite some time,

you already know the first step when you catch your queen ant is to place her into a test tube set up

The test Tube setup is the best and surefire way to get your carpenter

ant colony started and not a formicarium right off the bat for a tutorial on how to create a test Tube setup click the icon appearing here now

Carpenter ant Queens are fully-claustral

so they don't need any food you don't need to feed them during this stage when they are raising their first set of workers

All she needs is peace and quiet

Now I know most of you currently have your camponotus queens that you caught earlier this year in your test Tube setups and are 100%

eager to grow your big carpenter ant colonies and move them into a formicarium

But I do have some potentially sad news

you shouldn't move your colony into a formicarium until they reach 20 to 50 workers and

This may take up to a year. A year you ask? Why so long?

Ok. There are two reasons. One: because Camponotus are such large ants

they take longer to develop than most ants. It takes two months for a carpenter ant to go from egg to worker

and reason two: Camponotus Queens tend to lay eggs in batches taking periodic breaks of a few weeks, or months between egg-laying batches

Carpenter ant Queens do not lay eggs around the clock like some ants so for these two reasons

Owners of Camponotus ants usually won't get to move their colony into a formicarium until year two

It's a pretty long process, so let me go over the typical Camponotus timeline. You catch a queen around June

She lays around ten or so eggs over the next few weeks

Which she cares for and raises into workers for two months. By the time winter comes around and all colony growth stops for hibernation

you may only have anywhere between 5 to 20 workers you may even possibly have zero workers and just developing Brood and

No, you can't trick your ants into thinking

It's still summer by keeping them warm in the winter because they run on a biological

clock which tells them when to shut down for the winter

For more on hibernating your ants guys, click on this icon for a tutorial on hibernation and how to hibernate your ants properly

Now if your colony is lucky enough to have 20 or more workers before winter comes

You can move them into a formicarium at this point

but it

Suggested you hibernate them in a test tube set up for their first winter because conditions are better and more stable for the new colony

in a test tube setup then in a formicarium over the winter throughout winter they will be hibernating in your test tube not eating

Or moving or developing the queen not egg-laying and then when spring rolls around

The Queen will start to slowly egg lay again in batches. When the colony reaches 20 to 50 workers

For most of you this will be around May or June. Only then should you move them into a formicarium

But by then this is around their one-year anniversary of you catching them now by the time winter of year two comes around

Your colony should have anywhere between 30 to 200 workers

Again hibernation of non-activity and growth passes and then by year 3 that is when you start to see the population explosion

Into the thousands. It's in this third year that the majors also appear and possibly alates

Two years... Now I know that might seem like quite a long wait for a colony to grow to an impressive size

but believe me

it's definitely worth it and

time passes by so quickly as you enjoy the little joys along the way like when your first worker arrives when your small colony has

its first meal a cricket leg or a tiny drop of honey watching your workers help unwrap a cocoon casing often eclosing ant

catching your queen laying an egg as seen here and just generally watching your colony go from just the queen to a colony of

Thousands this truly is what the ant keeping

Experience is all about and you'll appreciate and love your colony much more by the way just a note guys this wait time is less

for those living in tropical areas where camponotus are.

Obviously because these ant keepers don't have to deal with hibernation period. The colonies just grow year round

Either way Camponotus ants due to their slow development compared to other types of ants require a lot of patience. If you're the impatient type

Perhaps Camponotus ants aren't for you, or

Perhaps you can manage to chop up some logs and find colonies in their first or second year of development

This can be challenging however and chances of injuring the queen is super high in my opinion

Raising your colony from the start from just a single queen is the best and most fulfilling way

Versus collecting a wild colony at the risk of killing that colony in the process

So if you're looking to purchase a professional formicarium at our shop when your colony reaches 20 to 40 workers

I

highly recommend, the OmnI Nest or an all unique

Camponotus hybrid gear pack the links to those items are in the video description Box below in terms of nest hydration

Carpenter Ants are Generally moderately dry loving ants

I say moderately because they do need moisture in their nest, but they don't do well in wet nests

I recommend giving them a sort of hydration gradient where only a small part of the nest is moist

While the majority of the nest is dry. Keep in mind that although an area of a formicarium may look dry to us it

Usually still holds a certain degree of humidity and moisture

So don't get too water happy with these ants if you're keeping your ant in one of our camponotus, hybrid nests

Then you don't have to worry too much about getting their hydration right as the humidified areas are already laid out perfectly

To fit their preferences. Just water once every five days to a week

These ants do well in formicarium with pre-made tunnels and don't necessarily need to burrow in wood

Speaking of which contrary to what most people think these ants don't actually eat wood

They actually lack the digestive Microflora in their gut to digest cellulose like termites can instead

carpenter ants Burrow and break off wood fibres piece by piece until they create

extensive galleries and Tunnels

Another thing to note

is that your colony will grow and develop much faster when heated, so if you can place your colony in a warm room in your

Home that isn't air-conditioned or if you can heat your colony with a reptile heating cable this will speed up their growth

Only heat up one side of the nest not the whole nest so your ants can

thermoregulate and choose where they prefer to stay

Based on their needs and those of the young. For those of you with hybrid nests, you place the heating cable here

and you don't have to worry in terms of their out world these ants will benefit from a large out world or

Multiple out worlds connected together they love to travel far distances to forage for food

Place all their food directly in their out world

And they'll leave their garbage and dead in a pile somewhere in there a world for you to clean be sure to clean up after

Them regularly as a barrier to put along the top of the out world I use vaseline without problems

But you can also use baby powder mixed with rubbing alcohol and paint this mixture along the top of your outworld

Now let's go over diet

What do carpenter ants eat? The carpenter ants diet consists of both a protein food source in the form of freshly killed insects like mealworms

super worms, crickets, and feeder cockroaches

and they also need carbohydrates in the form of sugars like honey, sugar water, or

hummingbird nectar and Fresh fruits in the Wild

Carpenter Ants will eat dead or living insects, honeydew from aphids, sweet plant exudates, and other foods

It's best to offer a wide variety of foods to your ants and not just one food source

So your ants get all the nutrients

They need don't forget your ants also need a fresh supply of water offer via a test tube at all times

another thing I really love about

Carpenter Ants besides the fact that they are so big and I don't need a magnifying glass to really see what's going on is

The fact that carpenter ants are polymorphic. This means that the workers come in all shapes and sizes

Carpenter ant workers can be really small also known as miners which are often associated with taking care of Brood and nest duties

But carpenter ants can also have huge majors and super majors with huge heads

Specializing in cutting things up. You can expect majors in your colony

After they've reached over a hundred workers or so which means usually by year two or three. The super majors the really big workers

arrive a bit later if fed an ample amount of food and protein

Your carpenter ant colony will start to produce alates by the second or third year

Don't worry though these alates fail to fly in captivity because they lack the environmental cues needed for nuptial flights to happen

But if you like, assuming you caught your camponotus ants in your area, you can leave your ant set up somewhere outside

Perhaps in a shaded area to protect it from the elements and leave your out world top

Open for your alates to fly out and mate during nuptial flight season

The Carpenter ant species that most ant keepers catch are also native species

So doing so would be great for the propagation of the species and good for the environment

Thanks so much for watching this video on how to care for Camponotus ants

I wish you much luck on these amazing pet ants

And I know you've become as much of a fan as I am of carpenter ants

What other types of ants would you like me to create care videos on like this one? Let me know in the comments section

also, don't forget to subscribe to this video. Like, share, and leave me a comment

Because I love reading your comments

And I respond to as many of them as I can and stay tuned for our next video next Monday because we release a video

Every single week now. Thanks so much guys. Bye. Bye

Thanks so much for watching our video

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