Camponotus decipiens
Lesser Red Carpenter Ant
Photo: azurebeetle, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
🐜 At a glance
Origin: Eastern and central USA; also NE Mexico; nests in twigs, branches, under bark and in old insect tunnels
Nest temperature: 24–28°C; advanced Heating System Small at 24°C, under a quarter of the nest
Outworld temperature: 18°C night, up to 28°C day; by day like the nest or a degree or two cooler
Humidity: Nest 50–70%; drier end preferred; outworld about 50%, never watered
Winter: Cool rest 2–3 months; 10–14°C in a hibernation unit with precise control. No rest in a queen's first year
Move to a nest: 3+ workers; 5+ is better
Size: Queen 8–9 mm; workers about 3.5–7.5 mm, red with a black gaster
Colony: One queen; usually under 100 workers, at most a few hundred
📖 About this species
A small red-and-black carpenter ant from the eastern USA that nests in twigs, branches and dead wood and grows quickly. A North American ant, not sold by Best Ants UK and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK.
🍯 Feeding
Proteins: Cricket Mash (the more efficient protein for carpenter ants) or Protein Jelly (keep it in the fridge)
Carbohydrates: organic Ant Honey or Ant Nectar, far better than sugar water or home-made mixes
Twice a week, small amounts, outworld only, on tin foil or a feeding dish; leftovers out after 2 days. Founding queen: a tiny drop of protein jelly on tin foil once a week. Small colonies don't need live insects
Buy food only from established ant-keeping suppliers: bird seed, dried mealworms and pet-shop live food often carry blood-sucking mites
💧 Watering the nest
Distilled or purified water only, never tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled
Pipette a few drops at a time through the watering hole and stop when 1 or 2 drops appear inside; water when the meter drops below 50%
Never open water: a watering test tube in the outworld, never a water dispenser; never water the outworld
🏠 Setting up the ant farm
A7 Plus with its pre-installed digital meter: a compact nest suits this small species
Daylight, never direct sunlight; away from windows, radiators, vibration, speakers and kitchens. Test tube warmth: a heating cable at the cotton stopper end only, never a heat mat
Escape risk: small, quick climbers. PTFE Fluon band around the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied about every 4 weeks (every 2 weeks for 300+ ants)
💡 Good to know
Most carpenter queens eat their eggs in transit: normal for Camponotus, she lays again within 2–3 months
On arrival: parcel unopened for 5 hours, then 4–5 days of complete rest in its packaging
No sting, only a tiny nip and a little formic acid. Never handle them, never a fridge, shed or garage
⭐ Golden rules | Never break these
🚫 Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and never expose them to abrupt temperature changes.
🚫 Never use gel ant farms, Ytong or concrete nests, or DIY nests.
🚫 Never use tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled.
🚫 Never move a colony into a nest too early, and never tip or shake ants out of their tube.
🚫 Never release ants into the wild. If you can no longer keep a colony, visit our ants adoption page and ask us whether we can adopt it.
🛒 Recommended for this species
📚 These care notes cover the essentials only. Please read the full ant farm setup guide and our Camponotus decipiens care guide from A to Z. Questions? Message us through our contact form and we will be happy to help. 💚
Written and reviewed by the Best Ants UK team, keeping ants since 1997.