The Namib Desert dune ant, Camponotus detritus, is a large ant species distinguished by white and black symmetrical stripes and markings on its hairy abdomen. It has an average mass of 45 milligrams (0.0016 oz). It is classified within the carpenter ant genus, a large group of more than 1,000 known species, many of which are associated with forested habitats in America and elsewhere. However C. detritus inhabits the hot dry dunes of the hyper-arid central Namib Desert in Southern Africa. Like many other ant species, it obtains its food and moisture by climbing the stalks of plants and drinking honeydew from scale insects, which themselves feed on shrubs and other perennial plants. It will also feed on dead insects. The nests of this species, located amongst perennial plant roots, are syste