Mealworm beatles

[maliqua]

So i've been feeding my ants meal-worms, because they're easy to keep and breed, i was just curious though, when i have an abundance of meal-worm beetles is there any reason why i can just feed them dead beetles, i find in a small meal worm setup you either have too many worms or too many beetles and during the lows in worm supply, i have all this protein wandering around just one story above...

Im relatively new to ant keeping so im perhaps being a little extra cautious with my food sources but i wanted to ask here before i give the beetle a try

[StormDancer]

I would certainly feed your ants freshly killed beetles. I'd be careful with ones that are already dead unless you know for sure they aren't killed by pesticides or parasites. Cut the beetles open to give the ants easy access to the gooey insides.

[antnest8]

So i've been feeding my ants meal-worms, because they're easy to keep and breed, i was just curious though, when i have an abundance of meal-worm beetles is there any reason why i can just feed them dead beetles, i find in a small meal worm setup you either have too many worms or too many beetles and during the lows in worm supply, i have all this protein wandering around just one story above...

Im relatively new to ant keeping so im perhaps being a little extra cautious with my food sources but i wanted to ask here before i give the beetle a try

so i did this and these are my results
- the ants did not like dead beetles
- in my four tries of introducing a live beetle into an out world only one time the colony was able to eat or kill the beetle.
- i just recently threw a beetle pupae into the out world and the ants did not touch it but today i looked in and the beetle hatched and the ants took the new beetle into their test tube were they are most likely doing to kill it.
- also note of advice keep sugar water away from all mealworms and mealworm beetles

[maliqua]

- also note of advice keep sugar water away from all mealworms and mealworm beetles

will do ty, curious why though, drowning?

thanks for the tips, i'll try cutting a beetle in half and see what happens, my ants are itty bitty and not got the chompers for an exoskeleton i don't think (myrimica sp.)

[antnest8]

- also note of advice keep sugar water away from all mealworms and mealworm beetles

will do ty, curious why though, drowning?

thanks for the tips, i'll try cutting a beetle in half and see what happens, my ants are itty bitty and not got the chompers for an exoskeleton i don't think (myrimica sp.)

no the reason why is that the mealworms and mealworm beetles will always make a beeline for the sugar water sooner or later. for example i was just washing the dishes when my sibling came running down the stairs and told my that my mealworm beetle had attacked the colony. wondering how i walked up stairs and looked into the container and ants were everywhere! running with brood and trying to hide under a feeding cup i placed in a while back. then i look and to my surprise i see in the sugar water test tube (were the colony was living) the queen tackling this beetle while the beetle was just trying to get a sip of the sugar water.