Camponotus novaeboracensis (New York Carpenter Ant)

"Will it chew through my house?" is the first question I hear from a first-time ant-keeper or any ant-keeper's parents when they look at carpenter ants.

A quick disclaimer: your house will be safe as long as it's not made from a crumbly and rotting foundation. There will only be ants if there's water leaking through.

Check out our care sheet on New York Carpenter Ants here

White spots dot the stems and leaves of the buds in the shrubs and trees every summer. Smaller than a pin-head, these dots are eggs of the wasp Pseudochalcura gibbosa, the hitchhiking bog wasp. Once the eggs hatch, dozens of maggots less than a millimeter long squirm down the stem to find a nectary, sugar-producing glands the tree grows to encourage ants to patrol the area. At some point, the unfortunate worker of Camponotus novaeborecensis, or the New York Carpenter ant, stumbles onto the nectary. Thinking it looks like a tasty morsel, the ants bring the larva back to the nest. Unfortunately for the ants, this is exactly what the wasp was waiting for. The wasp larva burrows into the ant's young, where it eats it from the inside out. Camponotus novaeborecensis is one of the primary hosts of this parasite,

Camponotus novaeborecensis, or the New York Carpenter ant is the smallest of the Camponotus subgenus. It is a polymorphic species, meaning it has major workers (close to a centimeter) and minor workers (close to half a centimeter) It prefers low humidity from 30-50%, and slightly higher temperatures at 25-28 degrees Celsius. It's the fastest growing Carpenter ant species with workers ranging from 5-16 mm and queens reaching 18mm. Generally, it is a beautiful species of Camponotus with a black head and abdomen as well as a red thorax.

Shipping Conditions

Hey! This is a live product. If you are purchasing ants during the winter months, please remember to purchase the "Winter Shipping (Live Guarantee) (72 hour heat pack + 1 inch foam cushion)" in order to guarantee the order.

Live Guarantee Policy

If live insects arrive cold or flooded please handle with care. Many of these colonies typically pop back up within a few hours. All DOA claims must be made within 24 hours after receiving your insects. Any order with a unacceptable mortality rate, but with a viable colony (e.g. less workers than in the range advertised, less queens or workers than advertised) can be compensated with store credit equal to the loss of value in the shipment, including shipping and extra packaging. Any order with DOAs, but which do not fall out of the initially advertised/promised range of workers will NOT be compensated.

DOA claims which are a total loss will be re-shipped 1 more time FREE of charge with photographic evidence. Orders where shipping is more than 30% of the total value of the order will be refunded proportionally to the loss of value in the shipment, INCLUDING test tube inserts which are purchased with the colony.

We guarantee live arrival on Xpresspost and priority shipments, as well as pickup and local delivery. Only orders that are accepted on the first delivery attempt will be eligible for DOA credit, no exceptions.

Live guarantee is VOID if you choose expedited shipping. In the winter, it is VOID if no extra packing is purchased. Fertility guarantee claims or live guarantee claims made within the month after arrival must be made with a timestamped photo of BOTH the queen alive upon arrival AND a timestamped photo of the dead specimens.

Expedited shipping can be a budget friendly method but does not always have the best results. If your order is going to be in transit more than 3 business days please do not choose this method or choose at your own risk.

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO HOLD BACK SHIPMENTS IF WE DECIDE ITS TOO COLD TO SHIP.

Please note that orders to outdoor community mail boxes, or other outdoor locations void our live guarantee. If your address consists of an outdoor mail box or location, please make arrangements to have the order delivered to a friends house, or to your place of employment.

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

Thank you to Jerry from Insect Supplies Canada for letting us use his photos!