Lasius flavus & Lasius niger colonies

[Ewout12345]

About 2 months ago i caught a few queens during nuptial flights. I thought both were lasius niger at first but when one of the queens first workers emerged they were golden (thus making them lasius flavus). i have 2 colonies now and they are both around 25 workers but i dont know what i will feed them in terms of other insects. anyone any good ideas on an easy to sustain insect farm that can be used as food for these ants? thanks in advance

[JoeHostile1]

Oh cool species. Here’s what I do to feed my ants. I have poison dart frogs that eat fruit flies. So I always have containers of fruit flies breeding. Ants absolutely love the fruit flies. The other thing I do is order a lot of crickets at one time. Then I freeze them all and keep them in a container in the freezer. Then I feed all my colonies every couple of days either crickets or fruit flies or both.

It probably won’t be worth it for you to actually breed crickets because you have two very small colonies and you will have way more crickets then your colony can eat. But it’s probbaly worth it to breed fruit flies for them.

[AntsDakota]

Oh cool species. Here’s what I do to feed my ants. I have poison dart frogs that eat fruit flies. So I always have containers of fruit flies breeding. Ants absolutely love the fruit flies. The other thing I do is order a lot of crickets at one time. Then I freeze them all and keep them in a container in the freezer. Then I feed all my colonies every couple of days either crickets or fruit flies or both.

It probably won’t be worth it for you to actually breed crickets because you have two very small colonies and you will have way more crickets then your colony can eat. But it’s probbaly worth it to breed fruit flies for them.

How do you keep the fruit flies inside the container when you feed them to your ants? Mine were flightless, yet they leaped right out of their jar.

[TheRealAntMan]

For beginners it's probably just easier for you to chill them in the refrigerator before serving. This doesn't kill them just slows them down. Some people with a little experience know how to do the "Tap and Tilt" method.

[JoeHostile1]

How do you keep the fruit flies inside the container when you feed them to your ants? Mine were flightless, yet they leaped right out of their jar.

Hmm mine are not so good at jumping hahah. But I have another plastic cup that I tap the flies into. So they kind of jump/fall into the other plastic cup. Then I freeze them and give them to my ants.

[AntsDakota]

Thanks.