Camponotus pennsylvanicus (Eastern Black Carpenter Ant)

"Will it chew through my house?" is the first question I hear from a first-time ant-keeper or any ant-keeper's parents when they look at carpenter ants.

A quick disclaimer: your house will be safe as long as it's not made from a crumbly and rotting foundation. There will only be ants if there's water leaking through.

The pungent sweetness of a rotting apple on the forest floor, knocked down by the fresh rain, lures a large black ant from a rotten stump. Drinking the sweet juices, the ant suddenly falls on it's back, and stumbles home. Her colony mates, surprised that their peer was such a drunkard, care for her for the next day, where she slowly wakes up. The alcoholic apple juice also contains other chemicals, though, like Tyrosine, which the ants are unable to digest on it's own. Luckily, the Eastern Black Carpenter Ant, and all other carpenter ants, have ecosystems inside them comprised of the bacteria Blochmannia. This bacteria comes into play when digesting such nutrients. It breaks the Tyrosine down into it's key components which can then be absorbed by the ant.

Blochmannia is heat sensitive, so you will find that this species may do better in cooler temperatures.

It prefers low humidity from 30-50%, and slightly higher temperatures at 23-27 degrees Celsius. It's the fastest growing Carpenter ant species with workers ranging from 5-16 mm and queens reaching 18mm.

Shipping Conditions

Hey! This is a live product. If you are purchasing ants during the winter months, please remember to purchase the "Winter Shipping (Live Guarantee) (72 hour heat pack + 1 inch foam cushion)" in order to guarantee the order.

Live Guarantee Policy

If live insects arrive cold or flooded please handle with care. Many of these colonies typically pop back up within a few hours. All DOA claims must be made within 24 hours after receiving your insects. Any order with a unacceptable mortality rate, but with a viable colony (e.g. less workers than in the range advertised, less queens or workers than advertised) can be compensated with store credit equal to the loss of value in the shipment, including shipping and extra packaging. Any order with DOAs, but which do not fall out of the initially advertised/promised range of workers will NOT be compensated.

DOA claims which are a total loss will be re-shipped 1 more time FREE of charge with photographic evidence. Orders where shipping is more than 30% of the total value of the order will be refunded proportionally to the loss of value in the shipment, INCLUDING test tube inserts which are purchased with the colony.

We guarantee live arrival on Xpresspost and priority shipments, as well as pickup and local delivery. Only orders that are accepted on the first delivery attempt will be eligible for DOA credit, no exceptions.

Live guarantee is VOID if you choose expedited shipping. In the winter, it is VOID if no extra packing is purchased. Fertility guarantee claims or live guarantee claims made within the month after arrival must be made with a timestamped photo of BOTH the queen alive upon arrival AND a timestamped photo of the dead specimens.

Expedited shipping can be a budget friendly method but does not always have the best results. If your order is going to be in transit more than 3 business days please do not choose this method or choose at your own risk.

DURING THE WINTER MONTHS WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO HOLD BACK SHIPMENTS IF WE DECIDE ITS TOO COLD TO SHIP.

Please note that orders to outdoor community mail boxes, or other outdoor locations void our live guarantee. If your address consists of an outdoor mail box or location, please make arrangements to have the order delivered to a friends house, or to your place of employment.