Camponotus semitestaceus (Halfshelled Carpenter Ant)

Camponotus semitestaceus seems to come in two flavours-- one morph, with a black head and thorax, and another with an almost fully orange body. These ants are found around desert regions. What's particularly interesting is that Camponotus semitestaceus, as well as several other formicine species will neutralize and detoxify the venom of fire ants and acrobat ants using by applying formic acid to exposed wounds.

Queens range from 17-18mm, and workers from 7-17mm. These ants should be kept closer to 28 degrees C with a humidity around 60%. Unlike other carpenter ants, these are a soil nesting species which require higher humidity.

Test tube inserts are upgrades to the test tube setups provided. If purchased, they come with a dark hood to lower light levels for the colony, an insert which provides a living space, and a feeding insert to provide food for the colony.

Ungrouted inserts are a blank plastic insert which helps provide a more suitable space for the ants to grip (as opposed to glass tubes), while grouted inserts are bedded with a substrate which helps distribute humidity more evenly throughout the test tube, and helps certain ants create their cocoons more easily. Overall, grouted inserts are more comfortable for the ants.

You will NOT need an insert for colonies in test tubes, but it does help for certain species. IF you are moving the ants into a nest immediately, do NOT get a test tube insert.

This species comes from more tropical areas than Canada, and are not cold-tolerant. Thus, we will not ship them in the winter

Just a warning, we will NOT ship live ants into the US unless the receiver has a permit. If such an order is made, it will be refunded, minus a 10% processing fee and restocking fee

This product is from Canada Ant Colony. The full catalogue, including all variants, can be found at https://canada-ant-colony.com