Camponotus Modoc Queen, Live
Species: Camponotus Modoc aka Western Carpenter Ants
Easiness: Easy
This is a Live Queen to start a brand new colony with.
Camponotus modoc is a large, black ant with orangish-red legs. The colonies grow at a slower pace but get very large with impressive major workers. Due to their large size, they're a very fun species for most keepers!
Species Info
General: Camponotus modoc is fairly easy to keep in captivity. They are sugar-loving ants which can take a long time to grow, but small colonies are very rewarding nonetheless. Colonies get large major (soldier) workers!
Diet: A good diet with these ants would be liquid sugars (honey, sugarwater) and a protein source (fruit flies, crickets, mealworms). Fruit flies seem to be a favorite of this species. They can be fed daily or every few days, depending on colony size and volumes of feeding. It's best to feed smaller amounts daily than large amounts every few days. Just make sure their habitat doesn't become covered in sticky sugars!
Temperature: The colonies benefit from a heat source, such as a heat mat, heat cable, or heated room. A good temperature for growth and activity would be ~82 degrees fahrenheit at the hottest point, while remaining in the 70s at the other end.
Diapause: This species requires a diapause period, which should last 3-4 months ideally. During this time, the ants need to be cooled down to a low temperature, with around 39-40 degrees fahrenheit being ideal. You can achieve diapause by placing the ants in a controlled cooling unit, such as a wine cooler, mini fridge, or regular fridge if temperatures are safe. If you cannot use any of these, a non-heated room which stays above freezing could work.
Growth: Brood development can take anywhere between 5-9 weeks depending on feeding and heating, with 7-8 weeks being the average. Queens tend to lay eggs in batches. Colonies grow slow for the first year or two of development, but tend to reach the hundreds within 2-3 years. Their large size and slower pace of growing makes large colonies extremely rewarding, and very impressive!
Queen size: 16-20mm
Worker size: 6-12mm
Major worker size: 8-18mm
Ant Keeping
- Always keep the nest hydrated when starting a colony.
- Never place your ant farm in/under/near any direct light.
- Item may contain glass, acrylic, ceramic or other fragile material. Please remember to be careful when opening & unwrapping your package.
- Item may have sharp and/ or pointy edges and be fragile, please be careful when handling it.
- Not for children to play with or use without adult supervision.Ant Shipping
We ship these ants using USPS Ground Advantage or USPS Priority Mail. We only ship on Mondays and Tuesdays, if there is a holiday on those days then we wait till the next week.
You are responsible for watching tracking and making sure the ants do not sit in extreme temperates. We guarantee live arrival unless you leave the ant in your hot mailbox for hours.
If you have a problem with the ants, please reach out to us within 2 hours of delivery for live guarantee refund. For other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.