Ant Diets

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Jadeninja9
Posts: 732
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2017 9:00 pm
Location: SF Bay Area, California

Ant Diets

Post: # 25406Post Jadeninja9
Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:25 pm

Is it true that you're supposed to vary with the insects you feed your ants, or else they won't be getting the proper nutrition they need? For instance, I shouldn't feed my small colony only mealworms forever?
Keeper of:
1x Camponotus Hyatti
1x Lasius alienus colonies
1x Tetramorium immigrans

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idahoantgirl
Posts: 1521
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:52 am
Location: Idaho, USA

Re: Ant Diets

Post: # 25407Post idahoantgirl
Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:56 pm

Jadeninja9 wrote:
Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:25 pm
Is it true that you're supposed to vary with the insects you feed your ants, or else they won't be getting the proper nutrition they need? For instance, I shouldn't feed my small colony only mealworms forever?
Honestly, it doesn't matter tons. It is probably a good idea to occasionally buy some crickets or cockroaches, but they aren't going to die if you only feed them worms. You would probably experience more growth if you had a varied diet, but there are no stats on it.
Proverbs 6:6-8

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

Keeping Tetramorium immigrans, Tapinoma Sessile

Serafine

Re: Ant Diets

Post: # 25422Post Serafine
Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:19 am

A one-sided diet isn't good for most animals, ants included. The risk of them lacking certain nutrients is definitely there, so it's best to feed them different insects (as well as some fruits and nuts if the take them). Also from time to time you should add something salty (like bacon or some drops of salt water).
My ants mostly eat (and prefer) bee pupae yet I still regularly add some spiders, grasshoppers, frozen raspberry bits, bacon, etc. to their diet and most of the time they take it.

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