Camponotus sanctus Carpenter Ants
Camponotus sanctus. Known for its high activity levels outside the nest and during food hunts, the Camponotus sanctus is one of the largest ant species in Africa and is often considered a cousin to the Camponotus fellah. When you tamper with their nest, they can become very hostile! This massive, extremely active, and aggressive ant species is found in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Extremely thermophilous—a species that enjoys warmth. prefers open spaces; burrows beneath large stones; prefers sunny roadsides in oak woodlands; wadis along rivers; dry hills with little vegetation; urban parks. Large majors with strong jaws develop as the colony increases, similar to other species of Camponotus. Whoa!
The Camponotus sanctus colony has one queen and grows quickly. It can have up to 10,000 members. The ants are very polymorphic and come in different sizes: queens are 16-18mm, and workers are 7-16mm. These unique ants are very active all day.
Ant farm requirements: Humidity: outworld: 50%; nest: 50 - 60%. Temperature: outworld: 22 - 30°C; nest: 25- 28°C. You must use a heating mat here in the UK.
Recommended food: They don't really care what they eat; they are true omnivores. Aphid excretion, known as honeydew, is what carpenter ants would forage for. In addition, they will consume fruits, plant fluids, small insects, invertebrates, grease, fat, and sweet materials like jelly or honey.
Claustral founding (without feeding) but we recommend feeding the queen honey once every two weeks.
From egg to adult worker, the process takes about 6-8 weeks:
- Egg to Larvae: roughly 14 days
- Larvae to Pupae: approximately 12-17 days
- Pupae to a worker: around 21-30 days (temperature dependent, the higher the temperature the faster)
The main activity period is from April to September.
Identified for the first time as "Camponotus maculatus r. sanctus" by the Swiss myrmecologist Auguste Forel in 1904.
Amazingly, the Camponotus sanctus queen's lifespan is up to 25 years! Isn't ant-keeping fascinating?
