Species comparison

Camponotus barbaricus vs Camponotus cruentatus

Side by side: difficulty, size, growth, climate, hibernation and nuptial flights, from the data and sources of each species sheet.

Head to head

Camponotus barbaricus and Camponotus cruentatus compared fact by fact
Camponotus barbaricusCamponotus cruentatus
Keeping
Difficulty
Easier4/7

Beginner

5/7

Intermediate

Escape risk
Medium
Medium
Diet
SugarInsects
SugarInsects
Best nests
Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup
Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup
Colony
Growth
Fast
Fast
Colony size
Reaches 10,000 workers
Reaches 3,000 workers
Workers
6–12 mm

majors up to 16 mm

6–10 mm

majors up to 15 mm

Queen
16–18 mm
15–18 mm
Colony founding
Fully claustral

One queen

Fully claustral

One queen

Defense
Bites · Sprays formic acid
Bites · Sprays formic acid
Climate
Nest temperature
25–30 °C
25–30 °C
Nest humidity
40–60 %
40–60 %
Hibernation
12–18 °C

Nov – Feb

10–15 °C

Nov – Feb

Nuptial flights
Jun – Aug

Hot days · Calm weather

Jun – Jul

Hot days · Calm weather

Native range
Europe, North Africa
Europe, North Africa

Size to scale

  • Camponotus barbaricus

    Workers · 6–12 mm
    Majors · ≤ 16 mm
    Queen · 16–18 mm

  • Camponotus cruentatus

    Workers · 6–10 mm
    Majors · ≤ 15 mm
    Queen · 15–18 mm
10 mm: both species are drawn at the same scale

Their year side by side

  • Camponotus barbaricus : Hibernation: Nov – Feb, Nuptial flights: Jun – Aug

  • Camponotus cruentatus : Hibernation: Nov – Feb, Nuptial flights: Jun – Jul

Months for temperate Europe and the Mediterranean. The weather decides the exact days, so flights can come earlier or later where you live.

How to tell them apart

Camponotus barbaricus

Glossy black workers in many sizes, with a black head and gaster and a thorax that runs from black to dark red or orange between individuals and colonies, so shipments from different places can look quite different. Compared with Camponotus cruentatus the body is shinier and the gaster has no orange band, and since the name also covers regional forms such as the subspecies xanthomelas, the exact identity of shop colonies is rarely certain.

  • Tip Heat only one side of the nest. One colony stayed tiny for years at room temperature and took off after a heat mat was added, and since eggs, young larvae and pupae choose different spots, a warm end with a cooler corner works best.
  • Watch out Do not rely on smooth glass or a thin coating, because the workers climb vertical glass, walk upside down and in one journal walked straight over a PTFE spray. Keep lids tight with no gaps, and feed in an outworld rather than inside the test tube, where some workers rush out and get lost when it is opened.

Camponotus cruentatus

Matte, velvety black workers of many sizes with a rust-orange to brick-red band across the base of the gaster and reddish legs, and in the larger workers a red tint at the rear of the thorax. The similar Camponotus barbaricus is glossy rather than matte and has no orange band on its black gaster.

  • Tip Offer a warm end and a cooler end, for example with a heat mat along one side of the nest. The colony moves its brood into the warmth, and several keepers saw development stall in a nest that stayed cool.
  • Watch out Keep the arena dry and give the nest one damp chamber. Keepers lost workers and grew mold in nests that were watered too often, yet one keeper blamed an almost dry nest for a queen that laid very few eggs, and moistening it again helped.

More comparisons

Compare
with
Camponotus barbaricus sheet Camponotus cruentatus sheet

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