Over feeding - what are the problems

Discussions about the care and keeping of ants

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harvesterant
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2019 3:14 pm
Location: UK

Over feeding - what are the problems

Post: # 59649Post harvesterant
Thu Jun 20, 2019 3:32 pm

I have heard of the problem of overfeeding ant colonies, and I have an ant colony that I feed a lot. Will everything be okay if I remove all the uneaten food from the outworld after the ants have eaten, or is it still worth limiting the amount of food that I give the ants? Will the amount of food that I give my ant colony have any negative effects apart from moulding?

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Over feeding - what are the problems

Post: # 59738Post AntsDakota
Sun Jun 23, 2019 3:56 pm

I honestly have no clue. I just feed mine a big glob of raw honey and just keep feeding them insects until they refuse to accept them.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

Mechanic3089
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2019 11:58 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Over feeding - what are the problems

Post: # 59765Post Mechanic3089
Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:00 am

How big is the colony? Estimated amount of workers? The fear is valid, if the ants leave uneaten food in the out world or the nest, it could attract unwanted pests like flies or parasitic mites. Play around a little with how much you feed them, if there's too much excess after it seems the colony has had it's fill then try a little less. I have a carpenter ant colony of around 200 workers. Three crickets every other day seems to be the right amount for them, no crickets are left to rot and a small bottle cap full of honey is there for when they choose to have something sweet. Hope this helps

harvesterant
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2019 3:14 pm
Location: UK

Re: Over feeding - what are the problems

Post: # 59788Post harvesterant
Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:07 pm

My colony is a Lasius niger colony, and it is very small, consisting of around 12 workers and one queen. They eat unpredictably, sometimes taking or leaving food.

Thank you for your help.

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