Camponotus festinatus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Camponotus festinatus is a species of carpenter ant that is typically found in the Southwestern United States and northern reaches of Mexico. It is most commonly found around Tucson, Arizona. It lives in the semi-dead branches of palo verde trees found in the area. Camponotus festinatus is an exclusively liquid feeder. These ants can only feed on sap from trees or the juices of a deceased animal. Like most ants, their diet is primarily sugar with some protein. Camponotus festinatus ants are not known to be aggressive except towards other ants. Soldiers will prefer to run from humans rather than be aggressive. In principle, these ants can bite with their mandibles. However, as carpenter ants like these are formicines, they have no functional sting. Instead of stinging, they can use an acidopore to spray formic acid.
C. festinatus queens are 'claustral foundresses', in that they sequester themselves in a chamber to begin a new colony and raise the first set of worker ants without seeking out or obtaining additional food. According to Snelling (2006), C. festinatus was a difficult-to-categorize species complex that "displayed a bewildering array of variant forms" over its vast native range. The paper described two new possible undescribed subspecies of C. festinatus, split two new species off from it, Camponotus absquatulator and Camponotus microps, and revived Camponotus pudorosus and Camponotus fragilis from synonymy. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Camponotus festinatus sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 88 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 337th most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Camponotus festinatus in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months.
Between 11 pm and 2 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Camponotus festinatus sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Camponotus festinatus sightings, Austin ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in San Antonio (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Camponotus
The closest relatives of the Camponotus festinatus that you can see in Austin (genus Camponotus, Carpenter Ants, Typical Sugar Ants and Allies) are Texas Carpenter Ant (about 10%) and Camponotus sansabeanus (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Camponotus festinatus is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (88 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
