Hello! Would Rice work?

[XxStrongHeroxX]

Hey everyone i've been gone for a while and i caught a pogonomyrmex badius queen while walking around in my yard.
i'm wondering if i can feed her some rice because some people told me that she still forages around before she makes her founding chamber. And also would rice work for feeding the colony IF she is fertile?

[Martialis]

Rice wouldn't. She will need small arthropods at that stage.

[123LordOfAnts123]

Pogonomyrmex badius queens are fully claustral, as opposed to the many semi-claustral species found in the west.

As per a recent study, P. badius is unable to open seeds larger than 1mm in width. They do undoubtedly collect seeds much larger than this, but these are apparently stored until they naturally germinate within chambers before the ants can access them.

As stated above, small insects are universally accepted, sometimes even by claustral queens.

[XxStrongHeroxX]

Rice wouldn't. She will need small arthropods at that stage.

What if i break up the rice into smaller bits