8 replies to this topic

[Serafine]

Whenever I open the lid of my formicarium container I recognize a distinctive smell, something like a mixture of superglue and hairspray. First I thought it was the PTFE spray I used to make the sides of the container slippery but I'm getting more and more convinced that it is the ant colony (Camponotus barbaricus) itself that produces the smell, especially since their old container doesn't smell anymore after I moved them.
Anyone have experience with this?

[drtrmiller]

All ants have a distinct odor when they are confined to small areas or are in large concentrations.

 

The only ants I've smelled are Solenopsis invicta, which make me think of fruity black pepper with a hint of rancidity.

 

I would assume Camponotus have an odor, and would be interested to know whether there is much variation in odor among different species of ants.

Edited by drtrmiller, December 12 2016 - 12:39 AM.

[AntsBrazil]

The Atta has a very strong smell.

[Loops117]

Every time i open my camponotus outworld for an airing, it smells like [censored]. Not like dead bugs or anything, just yuck.

Edited by dspdrew, December 12 2016 - 4:34 PM.
Removed profanity

[T.C.]

Actually now that you mention it, my camponotus did kind of smell when i had them, however i thought it might have been the formicarium.

[TheAnswerIsTheLogic]

When I open the outworld there is no smell from them ( i got a camponotus sp. with 14 workers).

[Kevin]

Formic acid sounds like you're describing.  I think it settles down in the outworld and rots and eats away at all the crud on the floor. I find my THA outworld has the strongest smell with camponotus in it out of all of them. Might be absorbed into the flooring.

[skocko76]

I have a founding colony of C. barbaricus. 

I also noticed bad smell when airing their outworld... I did not feel it while the queen had only 2 nanitics. Now there are some 10 workers and it smells like poop these past couple of days.

I have been feeding them earwigs lately so I am hoping it is the earwig that provides the stench. As I understand, some of them are of a smelly variety.

We'll see if the smell goes away.

[AntsMAN]

I have a Camponotus colony of approx. 300+ and I find their fecal residue smells like molasses.

Nothing strong, you have to get your nose pretty close to smell it.

The only time I ever smell anything rancid or bad is in the summer months, if I leave food in for to long.

Ventilation is key to keeping down odor. But as for the ants themselves smelling, we'll see as the colony gets bigger.

Spot cleaning every few days, Is a good practice to help prevent any unwanted odors.