Camponotus decipiens (Bicolor 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.

Camponotus decipiens, the Bicolor Carpenter ant, is a small arboreal carpenter ant from the United States. Camponotus sayi, along with Camponotus discolor and Camponotus decipiens (pictured) can be distinguished by the red head and thorax, and black abdomen. These carpenter ants are on the smaller side, with queens ranging from 9 to 12 mm and workers ranging from 5 to 11 mm.

The ones we sell are from the Southern US, where populations don't require hibernation

Like other carpenter ants, it prefers low humidity from 30-50%, and slightly higher temperatures at 25-28 degrees Celsius, though it surprisingly is one of the slowest growers.