Carpenter Ants are among the largest species of ants in the world. My Carpenter ants are a species called Camponotus Ligniperda, or C.ligniperda.  A very important species in Europe, probably due to their decline.  By taking this species into my set of colonies, I hope to do my bit for the conservation and preservation of this species by way of study.  I know that others within the UK circle of Ant keepers have had poor results keeping Camponotus species, and trust me, Im hoping that I can do a better job.  Not because I want to be better etc thats rubbish! Its because I want to do a good job, and help this species.  I will of course keep you all posted as to my success, or not!

This species is from the south east mediterranean areas like croatia and slovinia. They love nothing more than building their nests within damp dead wood, whether thats an old tree stump, or the old wooden joists under floors.

They are typically 10mm in length on average and have several castes.  This species are black or dark brown on their abdomen and head and a red colour on the thorax.

They have their nuptial flights in the spring, then when the queens have mated, they will seek out a cavity in wood or soil.  Of course, this may be one of the reasons why this ant is in decline.  As technology within the home so that damp woods are becoming increasingly rare, this leaves the home as a damp area a rarity.  Also the continent is fast replacing wood flooring etc with concretes, again damp woods have declined.  Coupled with the continueing deforestation the other areas that could naturally house this species are lessening.

This species loves to eat most foods, insects, and vegitable alike, colonies can grow to anything up to 3000 workers.  The damage that they can cause to homes is considerable, and they are known as pest species, they don't eat the wood, they tunnel through it and cast the fibres aside.