camponotus

A very strange subgenus of Camponotus that lives in small dry mesquite twigs. These ants have majors with specialized heads that block the entrance- somewhat like cyclocosmia sp trapdoor spiders.

A common nightly visitor to my light, a small fossorial black species of carpenter ant. The species epithet 'trepidulus' is a reference to their erratic behavior when disturbed.

Thermophilic arboreal species with a nice black and red coloration. one of the easiest carpenter ants to rear in captivity, colonies can grow quite fast in just a few months.

It's a really simple setup- just a 13 oz delicup filled with pure dune sand, placed into an outworld of.. ..Pure dune sand. The red liquid is a mixture of pure cane sugar, water and blackberry preserves. Ive had them for a while now, the colony is quite mature with several large major workers.

I'm pretty sure ive kept these going longer than anyone else. theyre still going strong!

recently deceased, the nanitic workers never last long, and are only around to get the momentum of the colony going. later workers live for years.

queen and new workers. These new workers are called 'nanitics' and have a short lifespan; their purpose is to survive long enough to sustain the queen for a second brood- this second brood is far more robust. This species is from the scrub and deserts of the southwest states