Need help with camponotus diet

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

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davislbsb

Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 15714Post davislbsb
Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:30 pm

I have a camponotus queen that has 4 workers, but i'm not being able to feed them because i don't know what to give them and i don't how to give them.
Could you help me?

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Nathant
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 15715Post Nathant
Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:14 pm

I'll list some food to try giving:

Sugar sources:

-Sugar water
-Honey (Camponotus however usually prefer sugar water more)
-Hummingbird nectar
-Fruit (apples are used a lot as fruit)

Protein sources:

-Mealworms
-Super worms
-Crickets
-Cockroaches

These are all common foods that usually work for ants. Your colony needs a diverse amount of both protein and sugar. Each colony however has their own personality, and may not like certain foods. For example, One Camponotus colony may completely reject eating Superworms while another may eat them primarily. Do some tests and see what they like and don't like, and make sure you feed as much as they will eat, don't go over or under. Take away uneaten food. Your colony is very small, so try placing food with a long tool like a skewer into their test tube (assuming that is their housing). Hope that helped!
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Batspiderfish
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Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 15716Post Batspiderfish
Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:49 pm

I always recommend Drosophila flies as a protein source for young colonies, because it is easy for the ants to clean up whatever they don't eat and harder to over-feed them. I have never seen a colony that will turn down vinegar flies.
If you enjoy my expertise and identifications, please do not put wild populations at risk of disease by releasing pet colonies. We are responsible to give our pets the best care we can manage for the rest of their lives.

davislbsb

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 15722Post davislbsb
Tue Jan 03, 2017 4:16 pm

Thaks a lot guys.

Serafine

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 15728Post Serafine
Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:55 pm

Marple sirup can also act as sugar source (but it's an expensive one, at least in Europe).
From what I've read and heard sugar water works better for most Camponotus than pure honey (mine have no issue with honey though).

I support fruit flies, they are great. My Camponotus stored all I gave them at the front of their tube (plus a few superworm bits). If you feed superworms remember to crush them, young colonies don't really have the strength to tier them apart on their own.
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Cartil
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 46685Post Cartil
Mon Aug 06, 2018 12:36 am

Nathant wrote:
Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:14 pm
I'll list some food to try giving:

Sugar sources:

-Sugar water
-Honey (Camponotus however usually prefer sugar water more)
-Hummingbird nectar
-Fruit (apples are used a lot as fruit)

Protein sources:

-Mealworms
-Super worms
-Crickets
-Cockroaches

These are all common foods that usually work for ants. Your colony needs a diverse amount of both protein and sugar. Each colony however has their own personality, and may not like certain foods. For example, One Camponotus colony may completely reject eating Superworms while another may eat them primarily. Do some tests and see what they like and don't like, and make sure you feed as much as they will eat, don't go over or under. Take away uneaten food. Your colony is very small, so try placing food with a long tool like a skewer into their test tube (assuming that is their housing). Hope that helped!
Hello!

I have a question regarding the "over feeding a colony". How do you know what the right amount is? Do you leave food for an hour and whatever is not eaten after that should be discarded?

I am afraid I leave too much sugary food and protein food, leading my ants to stock up on sugary food while not having enough space for the protein. Is that possible?

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

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 46696Post idahoantgirl
Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:10 am

Nope. Ants are really good at knowing whats best for them. You cant over feed them, and as long as you provide both food sources they will be fine
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

Cartil
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Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 46914Post Cartil
Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:31 am

idahoantgirl wrote:
Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:10 am
Nope. Ants are really good at knowing whats best for them. You cant over feed them, and as long as you provide both food sources they will be fine
Ok, thank you! :)

CampoKing
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Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:20 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 47022Post CampoKing
Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:17 pm

Cartil wrote:
Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:31 am
idahoantgirl wrote:
Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:10 am
Nope. Ants are really good at knowing whats best for them. You cant over feed them, and as long as you provide both food sources they will be fine
Ok, thank you! :)
I always leave my Carpenters with syrup water and a bug or two that I change daily (or I wait until they lose interest). I also give mine a cotton ball of plain spring water for simple hydration. I prefer using freeze-dried bugs sold in pet stores (such as Fluker's® Medley). They have great shelf life, which is a nice bonus. Just soak them in water a few minutes and they're usually good to go. My ants love them.
The freeze-dried bugs are more sanitary than wild bugs, and they've been fed at the commercial bug farms to be more nutritious with vitamins etc.
Keeper of Camponotus:
C. pennsylvanicus, C. subbarbatus, C. nearcticus

Cartil
Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 8:13 am
Location: Halifax, NS

Re: Need help with camponotus diet

Post: # 47225Post Cartil
Sat Aug 11, 2018 10:14 pm

CampoKing wrote:
Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:17 pm
Cartil wrote:
Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:31 am
idahoantgirl wrote:
Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:10 am
Nope. Ants are really good at knowing whats best for them. You cant over feed them, and as long as you provide both food sources they will be fine
Ok, thank you! :)
I always leave my Carpenters with syrup water and a bug or two that I change daily (or I wait until they lose interest). I also give mine a cotton ball of plain spring water for simple hydration. I prefer using freeze-dried bugs sold in pet stores (such as Fluker's® Medley). They have great shelf life, which is a nice bonus. Just soak them in water a few minutes and they're usually good to go. My ants love them.
The freeze-dried bugs are more sanitary than wild bugs, and they've been fed at the commercial bug farms to be more nutritious with vitamins etc.
Very interesting, thank you for the advice!

The problem I have is that I mostly do what you do (they have honey at will and a cricket or two every day) but they seem to lose interest in eating proteins entirely. My colony of about 80 ants have now a hundred eggs but no larvae or pupae. I have tried varying the protein source, giving them access to several sources of fresh water, offering them an access to a new test tube with fresh water and the colony is at 27 degrees (plus ou minus 2 degrees) constantly, but nothing changes. It has been that way for 2 months now... I am afraid that the older ants will start dying and not being replaced.

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