Considered a household pest, black-headed sugar ants feed on sweet foods and insects and tend to butterfly larvae.

[5] Some years later, the species was assigned to the genus Camponotus by German entomologist Julius Roger.

[6] In 1887, Italian entomologist Carlo Emery described a subspecies, Camponotus nigriceps lividipes, based on collections of smaller ants.

[8][9] The ant is a member of the Camponotus nigriceps species group, which also includes C. clarior, C. consobrinus, C. dryandrae, C. eastwoodi, C. loweryi, C. longideclivis, C. pallidiceps and C.

[2] The species is restricted to the north and south-east of Queensland, and is widespread throughout the Australian Capital Territory.

Populations are present in Western Australia, but they are not found in either the north regions of the state or in the Northern Territory.

[16] Nests are found in laterite soil in upland areas, surrounded by tall eucalyptus trees or under groves.

[15] The species is sometimes considered a household pest since ants can enter human homes at night in search of food.

[24][25][26] The larvae will reside in underground areas constructed by attending ants, and during the night they will emerge with them and feed on mistletoe leaves.

[27] The species is tolerant to myrmecophiles; the beetles Ctenisophus morosus and Cryptodus paradoxus have been found in nests, and the wingless cricket Myrmecophilus australis also dwells inside colonies.

Birds such as the black-faced woodswallow, rufous treecreeper, noisy miner, jacky winter and southern scrub robin prey on this species, as indicated by the fact that workers body parts have been found in the birds' stomach contents.

[34] Nuptial flight most likely begins during summer, as a young mated queen with no brood was found in a freshly built chamber in January.