Camponotus singularis

General species information: Camponotus singularis is a very pretty species from southeast asia. They are a part of the carpenter ant genus even though they primarily nest in soil. They come in a few different variations but usually this species has beautiful red or orange heads with their bodies ranging from blackish to a beautiful gold. These huge sugar loving ants are amongst the biggest somewhat affordable large ants. Their majors can get almost as big as the queen and their powerful jaws are a force to be reckoned with. Camponotus singularis also secreeds a particular smell, people have described this smell as: toothpasty, minty and flowery. These small giants are an incredible addition to every collection and we strongly recommend them for any intermediate ant keeper that’s looking to get into bigger more expensive species.

Temperature requirments: Camponotus singularis does best at temperatures of around 25-27 degrees celsius don’t keep them too hot however as overheating can easily lead to the colony’s demise.

Humidity: Even though they’re carpenter ants in name within their natural habitat Camponotus singularis nests in clay infused soils with a fairly high humidity gradient. As such don’t keep them too dry. We recommend 70-75% humidity. It is best to offer them both dryer and slightly more humid areas within the nest so they can choose for themselves. This can be achieved through watering the nest from one side and leaving the other part dry or by choosing a nest with a water tower.

Nesting reccomendations: There’s a few different nests that work for Camponotus singularis. There’s been success with wakooshi plaster nests, esthetic ants ytong nests, antfarm supplies nests layered with plaster and sand, the tubs and tubes set up and of course the old trusty natural setup.

Diet: Camponotus singularis accepts a multitude of differend feeders and sugar liquids. Feeders they’ve been known to accept are red runners, dubia roaches, crickets, mealworms and buffalo worms. They are 50/50 on the mealworms however as some colonies don’t take them at all. You will have to experiment. Note: always prekill the insects you feed to singularis as they are scavangers and not hunters and feeding them life insects may affect them negatively due to the stress it causes them. As for sugars they aren’t too fussy and pretty much everything works. If you feed homemade sugar water, be careful it doesn’t spoil as this can kill your ants. If you want a sugar liquid that spoils less easily you can use: sugar snaps from ant antics, formipure from wakooshi or sunburst from byformica. Camponotus singularis often prefer sugars over protein but for good growth you should try to feed them as much protein as possible. We recommend a feeding schedule of 3x protein and 1x sugars per week.

Castes: Camponotus singularis has male alates, female alates, major workers and minor workers

Worker size: Camponotus singularis has very large workers, minors can range from 10mm-14mm and major workers can range from 15-18mm

Queen size: Camponotus singularis queens range from 18-22mm depending on how full their gasther is, on average they’re usually around 20mm

Colony format: Camponotus singularis is monogyne this means that they only have one fertile egg laying queen. They found their colonies cloustraly but if you find yourself with a single queen you can help her a bit by feeding some sugars and protein and as soon as the first workers emerge they will assume care for the queen, forage for food, care for the brood and excavate the nest.

Max colony size: Camponotus singularis colonies don’t get huge numbers; you can expect high hundreds - low thousands. Don’t be fooled however due to how big they are they still need a fairly large set up.

Development: Campnotus singularis are very slow in their development. Don’t expect them to grow exponentially fast. It also depends on the colony and the care you give them. Some colonies will grow faster than others. A good set up, diet and temperature will get you pretty far in most cases. Although in comparis they will still be much slower than other species.

Defense/attack: Camponotus singularis majors have very powerfull jaws, with these jaws they can often bite through your skin and draw blood. They also have a potent formic acid that smells like mint and flowers. They smear this over their enemies and give them a hard time this way.

Danger level: Even though they can hurt you a bit, camponotus singularis is very managable and doesn’t pose a danger to your health. Try to keep them away from your eyes and you will be fine. These ants might not be suitable for small children.

Diapause/hibernation: Camponotus singularis doesn’t have a diapause

Difficulty: Camponotus singularis colonies are often dug up, they don’t always adapt well to captivity but when they do they are managable. Some colonies can be picky but overall they aren’t too fussy. If you get a colony founded from a queen or found a colony from a single queen yourself they will be especially doable. As long as you get their requirements right they aren’t the most difficult ants but also not the easiest.

On a difficulty scale from 1-5 (5 being the most difficult) we rate this species a 3.5 based on personal experience and customer feedback.