Camponotus vagus
(Scopoli, 1763)
Hairy carpenter ant
A fast, hairy, matte-black giant that sprints over sun-baked deadwood and bullies its neighbors at the food.
Compiled from published sources and keeper reports: I haven't kept this species myself, so treat the care values as starting points.
At a glance
- Nest temperature
- 22–28 °CIn the nest
- Nest humidity
- ≈ 50–60 %In the nest
- Hibernation
- ≈ 5–10 °COct – Mar
- Nuptial flights
- Apr – JunAfternoon flights
- Workers
- 6–12 mmmajors up to 13 mm
- Queen
- 14–16 mmOne queen
- Colony size
- ≈ Reaches 2,000 workersGrowth: Moderate
- Escape risk
- HighEscape artists: use a closed outworld and a good barrier
Year at a glance
Hibernation : Oct – Mar
Active season : Apr – Sep
Nuptial flights : Apr – Jun
- Afternoon flights
- Hot days
- Calm weather
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 recognize it
Big, uniformly matte black ants covered in long hairs, with pale bristles standing out on the gaster that give it a grayish sheen. Workers grade from small minors to majors with a wide, heart-shaped head, and unlike Camponotus ligniperda and C. herculeanus, whose thorax is red to reddish black, they are black all over.
Often confused with
- Workers6–12 mm
- Majors≤ 13 mm
- Queen14–16 mm
mm
Biology
- Queens
- One queenEach colony has a single queen: never put two queens together once the first workers arrive.In the glossary
- Colony founding
- Fully claustralThe queen raises her first workers without eating, living off her wing muscles and fat reserves.In the glossary
- Workers
- Many sizesThe workers come in a continuous range of sizes, from small minors to large majors.In the glossary
- Defense
- Bites · Sprays formic acidNo sting: the workers bite and spray formic acid, which can sting small cuts.
Native range
- Europe
- North Africa
- Asia
Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine
Taxonomy
Formicinae › Camponotini
Camponotus
Care at a glance
Difficulty
Why this rating
- Makes it easier: Fully claustral: the queen needs no food until her first workers arrive
- Makes it harder: A real escape artist that needs an escape-proof setup
- Makes it harder: Needs a cold hibernation, for example in a fridge
Food
- Sugar
- Insects
Sugar or honey water for the workers, and insects as protein for the queen and the brood.
Best nests
- 1Wooden nest
- 2Ytong nest
- 3Naturalistic setup
Notes from keepers
Watch out
They are fast, strong climbers that can hop small gaps and chew through soft nest material and plastic, so use a lid that fits tightly and check connecting tubes and joints regularly. One keeper's thick plexiglass lid even warped at the edges in a humid arena and no longer sealed.
Tip
Do not wet the wood or cork of the nest itself. Give water in the arena or in a test tube instead: the workers take it up themselves and carry it to the places they want to moisten, while a nest that stays too wet turns moldy.
Watch out
Their winter rest follows an inner clock rather than the room temperature: once the colony has stocked its reserves it seals itself in the nest and refuses food, however warm the room, and constant heating or a cool summer can make that happen far too early or too late. Winter them somewhere cool and shielded from extremes, such as a cupboard in an unheated garage.
Tip
Offer insects and sugar together. This species hunts more than its relatives, takes crickets, locusts and mealworms eagerly, and stores liquid in its swollen gaster, so keep honey or sugar water on offer between meals.
Related posts
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In this guide, we’re going to talk about hibernation: What is it? Why do ants need hibernation? Should I hibernate my ants? Let's see!
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FAQs
10No, wood is only its home. In the wild the colonies live in dry, sun-exposed dead wood, stumps and logs, and sometimes under stones, where the workers hollow out galleries. They live as hunters of insects and as farmers of aphids, drinking their honeydew, and they eat more animal prey than most of their relatives. In a formicarium they need insects and sugar liquid, plus a wood or cork nest to dig in.
The workers come in a continuous range of sizes, which researchers sort into small, medium and large classes by head width. The large workers have a broad, heart-shaped head and strong jaws, and they mostly stay in the nest as guards and living food stores; keepers suspect they are the ones biting galleries into hard wood. Keepers who watched prey hunts saw mostly the small and medium workers do the catching.
It depends on where you look. It is widespread and often abundant around the Mediterranean, but it is a heat-loving southern species that becomes rare and patchy toward its northern limit. In Germany the national Red List ranks it as critically endangered, and a 2016 paper reported its return to Baden-Württemberg, where it had long been considered lost.
Camponotus vagus workers measure 6–12 mm, with majors up to 13 mm, and the queen measures 14–16 mm.
Just one. Camponotus vagus is monogyne: each colony has a single queen, so never put two queens together once the first workers arrive.
No. Camponotus vagus has no sting: the workers bite and spray formic acid, which can sting small cuts.
In temperate Europe and the Mediterranean, Camponotus vagus usually flies in Apr – Jun. The weather decides the exact days.
Keep the Camponotus vagus nest at 22–28 °C, with 50–60 % humidity in the brood chambers.
Yes. Hibernate Camponotus vagus at 5–10 °C, roughly during Oct – Mar.
Camponotus vagus is not on the EU list of invasive alien species and is not protected in the countries we checked. Rules differ between countries and can change, so check your local laws first.
Sources and review
- 1
- 2Reinhard (2016), Carolinea 74: Die Behaarte Rossameise, Camponotus vagus, wieder in Baden-Württemberg (habitat, nest sites, swarm in early May 2015, northern range limit)
Paper · Biology, Distribution, Nuptial flights
- 3
- 4
- 5Catalogue of Life (AntCat checklist): Camponotus (Camponotus) vagus (Scopoli, 1763)
Reference · Taxonomy
Showing 5 of 43 sources
Last reviewed
- BiologyWell documented
- Care valuesKeeper consensus
- Nuptial flightsWell documented
Legal status
Not on the EU list of invasive alien species and not protected in the countries we checked. Rules differ between countries and can change, so check your local laws before buying or collecting a queen.
Checked on October 11, 2026
All values are starting points: watch your colony and adjust. Found something wrong or missing?
Suggest a correction
