Camponotus Novaeboracensis, also known as the "Red Carpenter Ant" and the "New York Carpenter Ant," has a dark reddish-brown-coloured thorax and petiole, with a black head and gaster. Newly eclosed ants will have yellow or orange thoraxes that slowly darken into a deep red over days to weeks.
Camponotus Novaeboracensis is a slow-growing species but makes up for that with its ease of care, massive size, and beautiful coloration, consisting of a glossy red mesosoma (thorax) and a dark black head and gaster. It loves sweets and likes to have a heating spot in its setup.
Camponotus Novaeboracensis is a species that can produce majors (polymorphic) relatively early in its development if given ample food and thriving conditions.
This species can make nests underground, under rocks, or inside rotten wood. We suggest keeping them in the nest with preformed chambers instead of a naturalistic digging format; due to their size, you would need a setup with a deep substrate, as they will likely dig to the bottom.
This species requires relatively low humidity (they like gradients), and our hybrid formicaria will need very little water to house them adequately. They can fit through 9.5 mm tubing, which is preferred during the founding stage to create a smaller chamber entrance; once the colony is more extensive and they have more traffic on their formicarium entrance, it is wise to use 12.7 mm tubing.
For this species to thrive, providing them with a diapause period (hibernation) is essential. Such species most likely originated from northern areas like Canada, where the cold climate can last five months; this species has adapted well to such climate and will go into diapause regardless of the temperature. Still, they won't come out of this diapause state unless they experience a shift from cold to average temperatures. In other words, do not attempt to skip diapause.
Every queen (or starter colony) ships in a pre-assembled test-tube setup. Components are listed in the “Included Queen Test Tube Setup” info section. For the full breakdown of all options and why we use them, see "Test Tube Components Explained".
Live ants ONLY SHIP within CANADA.
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