Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

Moderator: ooper01

Post Reply
cconesa
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:14 am
Location: La Paz

Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59493Post cconesa
Sat Jun 15, 2019 1:51 pm

Hello,

I am new to this forum and ant keeping in general.

I recently got delivery of four Lasius Niger queens with a few workers in each test tube. I saw a video made by Mikey suggesting that we feed a micro dot of honey once a meaningful numbers of nanites appeared as well as a "treat" following the shipment stress. Well..., I have a three of the four test tube ants loved it, the fourth does not seem all that queen so I am leaving them alone (only 4 nanites on that one). My question is: how often should I feed them with honey at this point and when should I introduce some protein (I have dried roaches to feed them with) and after that, how often should I introduce food?.

Please let me know.

Regards,

Christian.

cconesa
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:14 am
Location: La Paz

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59525Post cconesa
Mon Jun 17, 2019 1:25 am

Anyone, please?

oOFutteOo
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat May 26, 2018 2:45 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59558Post oOFutteOo
Tue Jun 18, 2019 5:31 am

Hey hope all is well with your ants, i got LN as well, let me just say, i'm no expert. But i caught my queens last year during nuptual flight, i let here sit in the dark for 4 weeks or so then some workers appear and i started feeding with 1/2 mehl worms and a micro drop honny every 3 days or so late November i moved them to the basement stable 5-10 degrees C. 1,5 month ago i brought them back up and started feeding 1-2 mehl worms and some micro drops of honey, every day to every second day. the seam to lose interest in the mehl worms when they dry up, that is why i try to give them new every day. I have outworlds so i don't disturbe the nest when i feed them, if you just have the testube you will disturb them when feed the you could remove the outer cotton ball and put the testtube inside an outworld, could just be a tupprware container or something like that. that way you do not disturb the queen and nest when feeding just remember the nest need to be dark, put it in a tube of carboard.

Best regards Futte the danish ant keeper

PS what country are you from

oOFutteOo
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat May 26, 2018 2:45 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59562Post oOFutteOo
Tue Jun 18, 2019 8:58 am

I Was reading another post, and were reminded that instead of removing the outer cotton ball you can insert a drinking straw to make an exit this make the nest more secure feeling, stressing the ants less

Best regards Futte the danish ant keeper

User avatar
BleedingRaindrops
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:33 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59684Post BleedingRaindrops
Sat Jun 22, 2019 12:50 am

if your colonies are still in their forming stages it's best to keep the claustral chamber as dark and undisturbed as possible. It really does a lot for helping the brood develop. I would recommend covering the test tubes with black paper and tape, and implementing the drinking straw exit mentioned above. After that, do not touch the test tube at all if you can help it. Brood need to be undisturbed and in the dark to develop optimally. If there are enough nanites to gather food, you should be able to place a small plastic tab (like from a loaf of bread or a soda can tab) in the outworld for them to find. At this stage you should only have to feed them every week or so, but if they start exploring the containment barrier, it probably means they're hungry.
Ants kept
Nylanderia sp.
Camponotus sp.
Paratrechina Longicornis
Pheidole sp.

cconesa
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:14 am
Location: La Paz

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59747Post cconesa
Sun Jun 23, 2019 5:20 pm

Thank you all for the replies.

I have now feed them a little honey and in one of the test tubes, a fly a caught, which they seem to appreciate. I think the delivery trip has stressed them somewhat so I am going to leave them alone for a week or so to see if they like where I have located them (in a cupboard which is dark and at an almost constant 20C. I set them up in a electronics cupboard that I have and is quite warm but I get the impression that they did not like the humming (and maybe vibration) of one of the fans. Anyway, we'll see how they get on in their new location.

As soon as I see that one of the test tubes reaches 20 nanites, I will set them up in a taper with a straw so that they can venture out for food. Out of interest, does the taper need to have an opening for ventilation?.

I am located in La Paz, Bolivia.

Best regards, Christian.

oOFutteOo
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat May 26, 2018 2:45 am
Location: Denmark

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59762Post oOFutteOo
Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:17 am

as i said, no expert. Ants require very little oxygen. my setup is close to air tight but i open it every day to let in fresh air and feed. it is around 1 liter in volume and the ants have stayed in there for a month and all seams fine :roll: .

cconesa
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:14 am
Location: La Paz

Re: Ant Feeding (test tube 10+ workers)

Post: # 59845Post cconesa
Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:04 pm

Out of interest, we often buy fresh meat from the super market that will always contain a certain amount of "juice" (blood) and I was wondering if the "juice" can be fed to the ants as protein given their inability to cut through meat and prefer the juices from the live animals as a source of protein. Is that something that would work?.

Christian.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests