The Feeding Experiments

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Antmanboy
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:12 pm
Location: Converse,Texas,United States

The Feeding Experiments

Post: # 75561Post Antmanboy
Fri Feb 26, 2021 7:19 pm

Log 1:Grape and Almond

I decided to experiment with my ant colony's diet.They are a colony is the species Camponotous Sayi.They eat standard ant stuff meal worms,honey etc.I wanted to change it up a bit so I decided to start a journal log for the experiments.From the title you likely can guess what i'm feeding them.Right now its almond and grape.I put it in but they haven't had much reaction.This is likely due to leftover food still in the colony.To get better results I will remove the leftovers soon.

RESULTS:
Colony of Camponotous Sayi prefers honey over all else.In second is meal worm and the almond comes in third.Last is grape which I have seen no ant feast on as of today.

I will update this log every time I conduct a new experiment.
I hope to hear from you in the future!

Antmanboy
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:12 pm
Location: Converse,Texas,United States

Re: The Feeding Experiments

Post: # 75589Post Antmanboy
Mon Mar 01, 2021 4:04 pm

Log 1-3 days later results
The grape was dry and brown so I removed that and the almond seemed to have nibbles.
This shows me that once out of honey and mealworm my colony will go for the next best thing.In this case almonds and grape.
My ants favorite foods ranked
  • Honey
      • Mealworm
      • Grape
      • Almond

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AM1C39
Posts: 1012
Joined: Wed Jul 29, 2020 12:17 pm
Location: Canada, ON
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Re: The Feeding Experiments

Post: # 75712Post AM1C39
Mon Mar 08, 2021 7:41 am

I have some suggestions for your experiments: seeds/nuts, bread, flavored sugar, fruits/vegetables, jam and various bugs. Also, you should give them some nectar and see if they like nectar more than honey.
My current colonies:
-Miniature Military(formica neogagates)
-Black Hearts(crematogaster cerasi)
In search of new camponotus colony
[Have a look at antmaps.org]

Antmanboy
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:12 pm
Location: Converse,Texas,United States

Re: The Feeding Experiments

Post: # 75760Post Antmanboy
Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:31 am

Thank you for the suggestions!
I fed them watermelon and I believe they enjoyed it very much so water melon is on the same level as grape.

Antmanboy
Posts: 330
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:12 pm
Location: Converse,Texas,United States

Re: The Feeding Experiments

Post: # 75892Post Antmanboy
Sun Mar 14, 2021 4:45 pm

Hello I am back! Today I feed my ants some grass seeds and they LOVED it. Here is a updates list of their favorite food from most favorite to least favorite.
  • Grass seed
  • Mealworm
  • Honey
  • Watermelon
  • Grape
  • Almond
Just a reminder that they are Camponotous Sayi and other species may have different preferences. Experiment with your own colony! I wish you good luck with ant-keeping!

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