Camponotus fallax
DifficultyIntermediate · 5/7
Species comparison
Camponotus fallax vs Camponotus japonicus
Side by side: difficulty, size, growth, climate, hibernation and nuptial flights, from the data and sources of each species sheet.
Head to head
| Camponotus fallax | Fact | Camponotus japonicus |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping | ||
| Difficulty | ||
5/7 Intermediate | Difficulty | Easier4/7 Beginner |
| Escape risk | ||
Medium | Escape risk | Medium |
| Diet | ||
SugarInsects | Diet | SugarInsects |
| Best nests | ||
Wooden nest · Ytong nest · Naturalistic setup | Best nests | Ytong nest · Acrylic nest · Naturalistic setup |
| Colony | ||
| Growth | ||
Moderate | Growth | Moderate |
| Colony size | ||
Reaches 300 workers | Colony size | Reaches 1,000 workers |
| Workers | ||
4–8 mm majors up to 9 mm | Workers | 6–12 mm majors up to 14 mm |
| Queen | ||
8–11 mm | Queen | 15–18 mm |
| Colony founding | ||
Fully claustral One queen | Colony founding | Fully claustral One queen |
| Defense | ||
Bites · Sprays formic acid | Defense | Bites · Sprays formic acid |
| Climate | ||
| Nest temperature | ||
21–27 °C | Nest temperature | 22–28 °C |
| Nest humidity | ||
40–50 % | Nest humidity | 50–70 % |
| Hibernation | ||
5–10 °C Nov – Mar | Hibernation | 8–12 °C Nov – Mar |
| Nuptial flights | ||
Apr – Jun Hot days | Nuptial flights | Apr – Jun After rain · Hot days · Calm weather |
| Native range | ||
Europe, North Africa, Middle East | Native range | Asia |
Size to scale
Camponotus fallax
Workers · 4–8 mmMajors · ≤ 9 mmQueen · 8–11 mmCamponotus japonicus
Workers · 6–12 mmMajors · ≤ 14 mmQueen · 15–18 mm
Their year side by side
Camponotus fallax : Hibernation: Nov – Mar, Nuptial flights: Apr – Jun
Camponotus japonicus : Hibernation: Nov – Mar, Nuptial flights: Apr – Jun
Months in the native range of the species. The weather decides the exact days, and colonies kept indoors can follow a different rhythm.
How to tell them apart
Camponotus fallax
Slender dark ants with sparse hairs, paler legs and pale edges on the gaster segments, usually black but sometimes with a reddish pronotum or thorax, mostly in the south, plus a few broad-headed majors, that freeze or sprint away when disturbed. Keepers mix them up with Camponotus piceus, C. lateralis and the rare C. tergestinus, so a microscope check is needed to be sure, and the notch in the front edge of the clypeus is the quickest clue.
- Tip Copy the dead wood a founding queen would choose: a cardboard or wood mat in the test tube or a small wooden chamber, darkness and quiet. Offer a drop of honey in the first days, with a small soft insect if you like, since the queens take the honey far more eagerly, then take everything out after a day and leave her alone, because this queen is nervous and slow to start.
- Watch out Small workers drown easily. One Italian colony died when its workers dug into the cotton of the water tank while the keeper was away, and in the same diary thread another keeper reported that carpenter ant workers kept drowning in sugary liquid despite rescue twigs, so offer honey in small drops and keep any cotton plug of a water tank out of their reach.
Camponotus japonicus
Dull, matte black workers of many sizes, from small minors to majors with big heads (sometimes dark red), with dense golden hairs on the gaster and no red on the thorax. That separates it from the red-thoraxed Camponotus obscuripes and from the shinier, short-haired Camponotus herculeanus, and some shops label the stock 'cf. japonicus', which means the identification is not fully certain.
- Tip Give the colony a cool winter rest from late fall to early spring, for example in an unheated room or a shaded, sheltered spot, as Japanese keepers do. The ants cluster together and usually need no food, but the nest must not dry out, and even colonies kept warm tend to slow down and pause their brood for a while in winter.
- Tip Keep one part of the nest damp and another part drier, because the workers carry their cocoons to the drier spot, and never let drops or puddles sit on the floor where eggs and larvae lie. Give drinking water separately from the moisture of the nest.
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