The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

Simple question: why do I never read about people feeding earthworms to ants? I see them eating them on the sidwalk all the time.

Simply because earthworms aren’t really nutritious and they could have been exposed to pesticides and/or carry lethal pathogens.

Some people argue that since wild colonies eat earthworms, that it is ok. I like to remind people that the majority of wild colonies end up dying prematurely. Only the luckiest survive.

idahoantgirl wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:30 pm

Some people argue that since wild colonies eat earthworms, that it is ok. I like to remind people that the majority of wild colonies end up dying prematurely. Only the luckiest survive.

How do you know that the majority of colonies end up dying prematurely? And even if that’s true how do you know it’s from eating bugs? Do you have any links to sources or studies done on this subject?

Studies have not been done as far as my knowledge, nor would it be possible to do such a study easily. I'm just saying that there is a reason that advanced ant keepers everywhere never feed their colonies insects from outside, including Mikey Bustos. And I think we all agree that he has plenty of experience and expertise. Especially for beginners who struggle to keep their colonies healthy, I take every precaution when giving advice. It's much better to be safe than sorry.
Here is a link to his video that addresses this topic. Start at 10:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJFcxCILlQ

idahoantgirl wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 22, 2018 11:21 am

Studies have not been done as far as my knowledge, nor would it be possible to do such a study easily. I'm just saying that there is a reason that advanced ant keepers everywhere never feed their colonies insects from outside, including Mikey Bustos. And I think we all agree that he has plenty of experience and expertise. Especially for beginners who struggle to keep their colonies healthy, I take every precaution when giving advice. It's much better to be safe than sorry.
Here is a link to his video that addresses this topic. Start at 10:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJFcxCILlQ

I think it's okay to get insects from your backyard. First, look at the insect and make sure it looks healthy (I.e missing legs, excessive cleaning etc). Then, as a precautionary method, just drop the insects into boiling water before feeding and leave them to your ants. I've had no deaths from my colonies and almost all of them eat insects from my yard. It's not entirely by choice though.. I just don't have many places I can go to buy food for my colonies anyway.

Hey guys. I just wanted to point out that under laboratory conditions a Lasius Niger queen lived to 29 almost 30 years old with her workers hitting the 4 year mark.
This has to be clear proof that clean food and clean housing is better for ants.

Also one last point. Do you randomly pick food off the street for your dogs or cats of fish? Just a thought.

I don't feed earthworms to my ants because they are very good for the enviroment.

in my experience i think that it would be somewhat ok for ants to eat insect from your yard as long as you know the limits and conditions i would take every precaution by boiling the insects and all that but really it seems lots of people feed their colonies wild insects and that's ok. their is a little more risk but really i don't think that all insects are crawling with pesticides because the reason that ants can't eat them is because they are a little more delicate when it comes to chemicals. that does not mean that all bugs are hardier than ants. many could be even more sensitive. all im saying is that wild insects are not bad but just a little more risky and personally i prefer just store bought mealworms.