[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":393},["ShallowReactive",2],{"species-sheet-\u002Fspecies\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata":3},{"species":4,"profile":258,"countryNames":297,"lookalikes":313,"similar":318,"posts":372},{"id":5,"authority":6,"colonyStructure":7,"confidence":8,"countries":11,"defense":27,"diet":30,"difficulty":33,"dryHumidity":34,"escapeRisk":10,"estimated":35,"experience":40,"extension":41,"finder":42,"founding":43,"growth":44,"guide":34,"hibernation":45,"hibernationMonths":46,"hibernationTemperature":49,"humidity":52,"image":55,"imageCredit":56,"imageHeight":60,"imageWidth":61,"interests":34,"keptSince":34,"legal":62,"lookalikes":65,"majorSize":69,"maxWorkers":70,"meta":71,"nests":72,"nuptialFlightMonths":76,"nuptialFlightTime":78,"nuptialFlightTriggers":34,"polymorphism":79,"queenSize":80,"regions":81,"relatedPosts":84,"reviewedAt":64,"scientificName":88,"sources":89,"stem":244,"subfamily":245,"temperature":246,"tribe":249,"workerSize":250,"__hash__":251,"slug":252,"genus":253,"nickname":254,"aliases":255,"tagline":257},"species\u002Fspecies\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata.yml","(Spinola, 1808)","monogyne",{"biology":9,"husbandry":10,"nuptialFlight":10},"high","medium",[12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26],"ES","FR","IT","CH","AT","DE","HU","CZ","SK","HR","RS","RO","GR","BG","TR",[28,29],"bite","acid",[31,32],"sugar","insects","5",null,[36,37,38,39],"humidity","hibernationTemperature","queenSize","maxWorkers","compiled","yml",false,"claustral","moderate","required",[47,48],11,3,[50,51],5,10,[53,54],40,60,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata.jpg",{"author":57,"license":58,"url":59},"Philipp Hoenle (myrmecophil)","CC0 1.0","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.inaturalist.org\u002Fobservations\u002F301631907",800,1200,{"status":63,"checked":64},"free","2026-10-11",[66,67,68],"Dolichoderus quadripunctatus","Colobopsis imitans","Camponotus lateralis",6,300,{},[73,74,75],"wooden","ytong","naturalistic",[69,77],8,"night","dimorphic",[69,77],[82,83],"europe","middleEast",[85,86,87],"how-to-make-a-wooden-nest","how-to-hibernate-your-ants","how-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial","Colobopsis truncata",[90,99,103,107,112,116,120,124,128,132,136,140,144,148,152,156,160,164,170,174,178,182,186,190,195,199,203,207,211,215,219,224,228,232,236,240],{"type":91,"title":92,"url":93,"covers":94},"paper","Schifani, Giannetti, Csősz, Castellucci, Luchetti, Castracani, Spotti, Mori and Grasso (2022), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 194: Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Colobopsis imitans lives in the Maghreb, Sicily and southern Iberia, so Co. truncata does not; truncata mimics Dolichoderus quadripunctatus; nuptial flights of the sister species at night)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1093\u002Fzoolinnean\u002Fzlab035",[95,96,97,98],"taxonomy","biology","distribution","nuptialFlight",{"type":91,"title":100,"url":101,"covers":102},"Giannetti, Castracani, Spotti, Mori and Grasso (2019), Insects 10: Gall-colonizing ants and their role as plant defenders (Colobopsis truncata in oak galls, worker sizes, colony sizes, gall architecture)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3390\u002Finsects10110392",[96],{"type":91,"title":104,"url":105,"covers":106},"Giannetti, Schifani, Castracani, Spotti, Mori and Grasso (2022), Insectes Sociaux 69: Different nest entrance architecture by Colobopsis and Temnothorax ants colonizing oak galls","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.1007\u002Fs00040-022-00884-2",[96],{"type":108,"title":109,"url":110,"covers":111},"reference","Wikipedia (German): Stöpselkopfameise (after Seifert: range, nests in beetle tunnels and galls, plugging of the entrances, polydomy, swarming from June to early August)","https:\u002F\u002Fde.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSt%C3%B6pselkopfameise",[95,96,97,98],{"type":91,"title":113,"url":114,"covers":115},"Wagner and Csősz (2025), Ecology and Evolution 15: The \"Chameleon Ant\" Colobopsis imitans adapts its mimetic appearance to local model species across the Mediterranean Basin (Co. truncata has a single color morph, nests in broad-leaved trees and is sympatric with Co. imitans in mainland Greece)","https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC12742699",[96,97],{"type":91,"title":117,"url":118,"covers":119},"Ward, Blaimer and Fisher (2016), Zootaxa 4072: A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae, with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.11646\u002Fzootaxa.4072.3.4",[95],{"type":108,"title":121,"url":122,"covers":123},"Wikipedia: Colobopsis (genus article: plug-shaped heads of the majors and queens, entrance as wide as the head, tunnel widening behind the entrance)","https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FColobopsis",[96],{"type":108,"title":125,"url":126,"covers":127},"Catalogue of Life (AntCat checklist): Colobopsis truncata (Spinola, 1808)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.catalogueoflife.org\u002Fdata\u002Ftaxon\u002FCLJLR",[95],{"type":108,"title":129,"url":130,"covers":131},"AntWiki: Colobopsis truncata","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antwiki.org\u002Fwiki\u002FColobopsis_truncata",[95,96],{"type":91,"title":133,"url":134,"covers":135},"Tăușan, Pintilioaie, Milea, Zachi and Țicu (2020), Travaux du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa 63: First record of Colobopsis truncata from the Moldova region of Romania (a common Mediterranean species of southern and central Europe)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3897\u002Ftravaux.63.e60375",[97],{"type":91,"title":137,"url":138,"covers":139},"Kiran and Karaman (2020), Zoosystema 42: Additions to the ant fauna of Turkey (records of Colobopsis truncata)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.5252\u002Fzoosystema2020v42a18",[97],{"type":91,"title":141,"url":142,"covers":143},"Lapeva-Gjonova, Antonova, Radchenko and Atanasova (2010), ZooKeys 62: Catalogue of the ants of Bulgaria (Camponotus truncatus records)","https:\u002F\u002Fdoi.org\u002F10.3897\u002Fzookeys.62.430",[97],{"type":91,"title":145,"url":146,"covers":147},"Gratiashvili and Barjadze (2008), Proceedings of the Institute of Zoology 23: Checklist of the ants of Georgia (Camponotus (Colobopsis) truncatus)","https:\u002F\u002Ftreatment.plazi.org\u002Fid\u002FEE6AC0BC290C24E9C728DE65E025311E",[97],{"type":108,"title":149,"url":150,"covers":151},"GBIF: Camponotus truncatus (Spinola, 1808) = Colobopsis truncata, occurrence records by country (the record set still contains some Colobopsis imitans)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gbif.org\u002Fspecies\u002F1313954",[97],{"type":108,"title":153,"url":154,"covers":155},"AntFlights: nuptial flight record of Colobopsis truncata, Catalonia, Spain, 12 September 2021 at 23:13","https:\u002F\u002Fantflights.com\u002Ff\u002F1167\u002Fnuptial-flight-colobopsis-truncata-cataluna-spain",[98],{"type":108,"title":157,"url":158,"covers":159},"AntFlights: nuptial flight record of Colobopsis truncata, Catalonia, Spain, 1 July 2026 at 00:57","https:\u002F\u002Fantflights.com\u002Ff\u002F3067\u002Fnuptial-flight-colobopsis-truncata-cataluna-espana",[98],{"type":108,"title":161,"url":162,"covers":163},"AntFlights: winged queen record of Colobopsis truncata, Hessen, Germany, 9 July 2023 at 22:00","https:\u002F\u002Fantflights.com\u002Ff\u002F1649\u002Fwinged-queen-colobopsis-truncata-hessen-germany",[98],{"type":165,"title":166,"url":167,"covers":168},"careSheet","formicarium.it: Scheda Colobopsis truncata (Camponotus truncatus)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fformiche-italiane\u002Fcamponotus-truncatus\u002F",[169,96,98],"husbandry",{"type":165,"title":171,"url":172,"covers":173},"Ameisenhaltung.de: Artenverzeichnis, Camponotus truncata (sizes, nest forms, temperature swings, winter rest, swarming)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenhaltung.de\u002Fartenverzeichnis\u002Fentry\u002F189-camponotus-truncata\u002F",[169,96,98],{"type":165,"title":175,"url":176,"covers":177},"Ameisenhaltung.de: Ameisen-Steckbrief Camponotus truncatus by joey (founding, wooden nests, difficulty, Red List)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenhaltung.de\u002Fcafe\u002Fthread\u002F6714-camponotus-truncatus\u002F",[169,96,98],{"type":165,"title":179,"url":180,"covers":181},"Antstore: Colobopsis truncata (formerly Camponotus truncatus)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.antstore.net\u002Fshop\u002Fen\u002Fants\u002FAnts-from-South-Europe\u002FCamponotus-truncatus.html",[169,96,98],{"type":165,"title":183,"url":184,"covers":185},"FormicaMarket: Colobopsis truncata care guide","https:\u002F\u002Fformicamarket.com\u002Fen\u002Fant-database\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata\u002F",[169,98],{"type":165,"title":187,"url":188,"covers":189},"Antkeeping.info: Colobopsis truncata","https:\u002F\u002Fantkeeping.info\u002Fants\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata\u002F",[169,98],{"type":191,"title":192,"url":193,"covers":194},"forum","formicarium.it forum: Fondazione di Camponotus truncatus (Luca.B, winny88 and quercia, 2012 to 2014: narrow guarded founding chambers, lost queens in plain tubes, escape after a lapsed barrier)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=3333",[169,96],{"type":191,"title":196,"url":197,"covers":198},"formicarium.it forum: Camponotus truncatus, diario di baroque85 (2012, colony of about a hundred workers found in a gall, oak gall nest, oil and petroleum jelly escape barrier)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=3491",[169,96],{"type":191,"title":200,"url":201,"covers":202},"formicarium.it forum: Formicaio con galle per Camponotus truncatus by MattiaMen (2012, gall nest, ventilation, water supply)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=3234",[169],{"type":191,"title":204,"url":205,"covers":206},"formicarium.it forum: Interessante ritrovamento di Camponotus truncatus (2014, queenless gall colony, adoption of a founding queen)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=8178",[169,96],{"type":191,"title":208,"url":209,"covers":210},"formicarium.it forum: Consiglio provetta per regina di Camponotus truncatus (July 2014, dealate queens found in fig, plum and apricot branches)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=8684",[169,96,98],{"type":191,"title":212,"url":213,"covers":214},"formicarium.it forum: Identificazione Formica Camponotus truncatus (2013, queen and minor from an oak gall, first mistaken for Crematogaster or C. lateralis)","https:\u002F\u002Fformicarium.it\u002Fviewtopic.php?t=6438",[96],{"type":191,"title":216,"url":217,"covers":218},"Ameisenforum.de: Camponotus truncatus Haltungserfahrungen by Wusel (2006, queen with first pygmy workers, failed founding)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenforum.de\u002Fcamponotus\u002Fcamponotus-truncatus-haltungserfahrungen-t27752.html",[169,96],{"type":108,"title":220,"url":221,"covers":222},"Ameisenhaltung.de: list of the ant species of Germany with Red List categories after Seifert (Colobopsis truncata: V, early-warning list)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ameisenhaltung.de\u002Fcafe\u002Fthread\u002F2835-liste-der-ameisenarten-in-deutschland\u002F",[96,223],"legal",{"type":108,"title":225,"url":226,"covers":227},"EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern (Implementing Regulation 2016\u002F1141, consolidated)","https:\u002F\u002Feur-lex.europa.eu\u002Feli\u002Freg_impl\u002F2016\u002F1141\u002Foj",[223],{"type":108,"title":229,"url":230,"covers":231},"Wikipedia: List of invasive alien species of Union concern (ants on the list: Solenopsis and Wasmannia species, Brachyponera chinensis)","https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_invasive_alien_species_of_Union_concern",[223],{"type":108,"title":233,"url":234,"covers":235},"Bundesartenschutzverordnung (BArtSchV), Anlage 1: protected species in Germany (the only ants listed are Formica species)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gesetze-im-internet.de\u002Fbartschv_2005\u002Fanlage_1.html",[223],{"type":108,"title":237,"url":238,"covers":239},"MITECO: Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Alien Species, arthropods","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.miteco.gob.es\u002Fes\u002Fbiodiversidad\u002Ftemas\u002Fconservacion-de-especies\u002Fespecies-exoticas-invasoras\u002Fce_eei_artropodos_nc.html",[223],{"type":108,"title":241,"url":242,"covers":243},"Japan Ministry of the Environment: designated invasive alien species under the Invasive Alien Species Act","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.env.go.jp\u002Fnature\u002Fintro\u002F2outline\u002Flist.html",[223],"species\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata","Formicinae",[247,248],21,28,"Camponotini",[48,50],"HLYK9-xE-f8m_kJIi2dj1CEmI6O-oHZXXQPHUaCs_54","colobopsis-truncata","Colobopsis","European gate-keeper ant",[256],"Doorkeeper ant","A shy tree dweller whose soldiers, and the queen herself, seal the nest door with flat, plug-shaped heads.",{"id":259,"title":260,"aliases":255,"body":261,"description":265,"extension":268,"faqs":269,"identification":279,"language":280,"meta":281,"navigation":282,"nickname":254,"notes":283,"path":294,"seo":295,"stem":244,"tagline":257,"__hash__":296},"speciesProfiles\u002Fspecies\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata.md","Colobopsis Truncata",{"type":262,"value":263,"toc":264},"minimark",[],{"title":265,"searchDepth":266,"depth":266,"links":267},"",2,[],"md",[270,273,276],{"question":271,"answer":272},"Why does Colobopsis truncata plug its nest entrance with its head?","The soldiers and the queen have a flat, cylindrical head, cut off at the front, that is as wide as the nest entrance, so a single ant can block the hole like a cork. The tunnel widens right behind the entrance, so the plug can step back to let nestmates through. A founding queen seals her own chamber, the soldiers take over once they appear, and a wider entrance can be closed by up to three ants at once. The soldiers mostly guard and rarely help with the brood. In oak galls the ants turn the exit hole of the gall wasp into their entrance, and a study found it larger and more central than the one made by a Temnothorax species, which probably suits the plug-headed soldiers.",{"question":274,"answer":275},"Why do keepers find Colobopsis truncata colonies in oak galls?","Old oak galls are ready-made cavities, much like the tunnels of wood-boring beetles and the hollow stems where the species also nests. In a survey of galls in northern Tuscany, Crematogaster scutellaris was the most frequent gall ant, followed by Colobopsis truncata, which dug only a few small chambers into the lower part of the gall. A colony often spreads over several galls on the same tree, so a gall with workers and brood but no queen is not unusual, and keepers have also found lone founding queens in galls and hollow fig twigs.",{"question":277,"answer":278},"Is Colobopsis truncata rare?","It depends on where you look. It is a common tree dweller in southern and central Europe, but it lives high in trees and is easy to overlook. In Germany it is on the early-warning list of the national Red List, even though it is frequent in the warm south of the country and further north it turns up only where plant material has carried it. The listing is a warning about wild populations rather than a ban, but German keepers advise thinking twice before keeping it or collecting its queens there.","Fast, slender minor workers with a reddish to dark brown head and thorax and a blackish gaster, often with pale dots at its base, live beside a few soldiers and a queen whose flat heads are cut off square at the front like a plug. Dolichoderus quadripunctatus shares its trees and colors, and small Camponotus such as C. lateralis look similar too, but the top edge of a minor's petiole is concave in front view, unlike in Camponotus, and in southern Iberia, Sicily and North Africa the near-identical sister species Colobopsis imitans takes its place.","en",{},true,[284,287,290,292],{"kind":285,"text":286},"watchOut","Founding queens often fail in a plain test tube. The queens that laid and raised their first workers were given a tiny, dark chamber with a single narrow entrance to guard, such as a hollowed acorn cap, a hollow twig or a short piece of thin tubing, and keepers suspect that the size of the chamber matters more than the material.",{"kind":288,"text":289},"tip","Offer a wooden nest or a set of half oak galls, with the entrance holes drilled in advance as German keepers advise. The ants pick one chamber, add satellite chambers later, and a soldier often sits in the entrance on guard.",{"kind":288,"text":291},"Copy the rhythm of a tree: German keepers describe warm days with clearly cooler nights, and a cold winter, as something the species seems to need, and they advise against a constant living-room climate. Keep a water source available all year, because a dried-out tube or nest killed founding queens and small colonies.",{"kind":285,"text":293},"Offer honey and sugar water on soaked cotton, never as a free drop, because the workers tend to drown. Keep the escape barrier fresh too, since the fast minors will use any lapse and one neglected colony simply walked out.","\u002Fspecies\u002Fcolobopsis-truncata",{"description":265},"HZTgdBEPvzrSGjV9tpFrdg6IyrRRVc17qQ0nkI1P0JU",[298,299,300,301,302,303,304,305,306,307,308,309,310,311,312],"Austria","Bulgaria","Croatia","Czechia","France","Germany","Greece","Hungary","Italy","Romania","Serbia","Slovakia","Spain","Switzerland","Türkiye",[314,315,316],{"name":66,"slug":34},{"name":67,"slug":34},{"name":68,"slug":317},"camponotus-lateralis",[319,336,352],{"slug":320,"scientificName":321,"genus":322,"nickname":265,"aliases":323,"tagline":324,"image":325,"experience":40,"guide":34,"difficulty":33,"workerSize":326,"majorSize":328,"queenSize":329,"temperature":330,"hibernation":45,"hibernationTemperature":332,"hibernationBand":333,"sizeClass":10,"founding":43,"colonyStructure":7,"regions":334},"camponotus-fallax","Camponotus fallax","Camponotus",[],"A shy, slender tree dweller that freezes when startled, nests in dead branches and keeps its colony small.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fcamponotus-fallax.jpg",[327,77],4,9,[77,47],[247,331],27,[50,51],"cold",[82,335,83],"northAfrica",{"slug":337,"scientificName":338,"genus":339,"nickname":265,"aliases":340,"tagline":341,"image":342,"experience":343,"guide":344,"difficulty":33,"workerSize":345,"majorSize":34,"queenSize":346,"temperature":347,"hibernation":45,"hibernationTemperature":348,"hibernationBand":333,"sizeClass":10,"founding":43,"colonyStructure":349,"regions":350},"formica-cinerea","Formica cinerea","Formica",[],"Big, fast and nervous: a formic acid sprayer that can reach 10,000 workers.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fformica_cinerea_colony_into_ytong_nest_2.jpeg","firstHand","how-to-care-for-formica-cinerea",[327,77],[77,47],[247,331],[50,77],"facultative",[82,351],"asia",{"slug":353,"scientificName":354,"genus":355,"nickname":356,"aliases":357,"tagline":360,"image":361,"experience":40,"guide":34,"difficulty":33,"workerSize":362,"majorSize":34,"queenSize":363,"temperature":365,"hibernation":45,"hibernationTemperature":368,"hibernationBand":333,"sizeClass":10,"founding":369,"colonyStructure":370,"regions":371},"myrmica-rubra","Myrmica rubra","Myrmica","European fire ant",[358,359],"Common red ant","Ruby ant","A feisty red ant of damp meadows that lives in sprawling multi-queen colonies and defends its nest with a nettle-like sting.","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fspecies\u002Fmyrmica-rubra.jpg",[327,69],[50,364],7,[366,367],18,25,[50,77],"semiClaustral","polygyne",[82,351],[373,380,387],{"id":374,"title":375,"description":376,"image":377,"categoryText":378,"path":379},"blog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-wooden-nest.md","How to Make a Wooden Nest - Ant Keeping Tutorial","In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a wooden nest for your ant colonies! This type of nest is perfect for species that love wood!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_wooden_nest_tutorial.png","Tutorials & D.I.Y.","\u002Fhow-to-make-a-wooden-nest",{"id":381,"title":382,"description":383,"image":384,"categoryText":385,"path":386},"blog\u002Fhow-to-hibernate-your-ants.md","How To Hibernate Your Ants - Hibernation Tutorial","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!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_hibernation_guide.png","Ant Keeping Basics","\u002Fhow-to-hibernate-your-ants",{"id":388,"title":389,"description":390,"image":391,"categoryText":385,"path":392},"blog\u002Fhow-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial.md","How To Make a Test Tube Setup - Ant Keeping Basics","In this tutorial you will learn how to make a test tube setup, the best way to create the optimal environment for a newly mated queen ant!","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.brumaants.com\u002Fimages\u002Fbruma_ants_thumbnail_test_tube_setup_tutorial_new.png","\u002Fhow-to-make-a-test-tube-setup-tutorial",1791900224078]