My ants won't eat honey
Moderator: ooper01
My ants won't eat honey
back in June i found 4 solenopisis invicta queens. I read they are polygenous so i connected all 4 test tubes via a test tube portal. they started laying eggs waited around 3 weeks for them to develop into adults. When they had around 10 workers i fed them some honey on a piece of toilet paper (Ants Australia did a video saying this method of putting the honey in the toilet paper was a easy way of clean up. i placed the honey but no ant drank it. they could have drank the honey after i put the away but it seems very unlikely as the honey puddle didn't shrink in size. but one of the queens died recently and i was wondering if she died because she didn't eat. (i couldn't feed then crushed insects because my local pet store was out of meal worms and crickets, and the dead ones were frozen and dried). I hope someone could give me advise on why the small colony ins't eating honey. (also, they have 30 to 40 workers now and still growing).
Thanks for your help!
Thanks for your help!
Keeping: solenopsis invicta
Re: My ants won't eat honey
Maybe your colony drank too little for you to notice
Keeper of :
Camponotus albosparsus x2
Camponotus Irritans
Hoping for pheidole colony
Camponotus albosparsus x2
Camponotus Irritans
Hoping for pheidole colony
Re: My ants won't eat honey
thanks for the response!
maybe they have drank too little, as i only leave the food about 2 days. I am fairly new to this and this is my first time feeding a colony.
maybe they have drank too little, as i only leave the food about 2 days. I am fairly new to this and this is my first time feeding a colony.
Keeping: solenopsis invicta
- idahoantgirl
- Posts: 1521
- Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Idaho, USA
Re: My ants won't eat honey
They could just be at a stage of development when they just don't need as much food, but it's highly likely that they drank an unnoticeable amount. Supply them with protein. Even if it has to be moist dog food for now or shreds of chicken.
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
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
Re: My ants won't eat honey
Do you guys think they are ready for a formicarium?
Keeping: solenopsis invicta
- idahoantgirl
- Posts: 1521
- Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 11:52 am
- Location: Idaho, USA
Re: My ants won't eat honey
The reccomended number is 25-50 so yeah I think they'd 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
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
-
- Posts: 409
- Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:51 am
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Re: My ants won't eat honey
Try soaking a cotton ball or piece of a cotton ball in sugar water. Most of my colonies never ever touch honey even though I always provide it for them. But they all eat the sugar water. Honey can be dangerous for workers as well especially the smaller ones.
Keeping:
Tetramorium immigrans * Lasius Neoniger * Lasius Claviger * Messor Aciculatus * Myrmica Rubra * Camponotus Novaeboracensis * Camponotus Turkastanus * Pheidole Pallidula
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSfFtn6RegZ3F1NdS1g08NA
Tetramorium immigrans * Lasius Neoniger * Lasius Claviger * Messor Aciculatus * Myrmica Rubra * Camponotus Novaeboracensis * Camponotus Turkastanus * Pheidole Pallidula
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSfFtn6RegZ3F1NdS1g08NA
Re: My ants won't eat honey
Thanks y'all for the answers!
By the way here's an update: the colony hasn't grown much but they did start to eat honey, and my local pet store provided some superworms. their size is about 65, but i noticed one other thing. My workers keep vibrating their gasters. Can anyone tell me why?
They also have trouble moving. I placed a hair dryer so it would generate some discomfort, but it didn't work. I also placed lighting there, but they didn't seem to bother. But again, they are solenopsis invicta, so that might have to do with the species.
Thank a'll for the support!
By the way here's an update: the colony hasn't grown much but they did start to eat honey, and my local pet store provided some superworms. their size is about 65, but i noticed one other thing. My workers keep vibrating their gasters. Can anyone tell me why?
They also have trouble moving. I placed a hair dryer so it would generate some discomfort, but it didn't work. I also placed lighting there, but they didn't seem to bother. But again, they are solenopsis invicta, so that might have to do with the species.
Thank a'll for the support!
Keeping: solenopsis invicta
Re: My ants won't eat honey
The vibrating of gasters is probably them communicating
Keeper of :
Camponotus albosparsus x2
Camponotus Irritans
Hoping for pheidole colony
Camponotus albosparsus x2
Camponotus Irritans
Hoping for pheidole colony
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