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
Mealworm beatles
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Re: Mealworm beatles
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.
Learn to dance in the rain, because after there are queens to find!
Re: Mealworm beatles
so i did this and these are my resultsmaliqua wrote: ↑Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:31 amSo 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
- 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
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
- Ant Care Sheets
Queen Hunting
How To Identify Ants
Re: Mealworm beatles
will do ty, curious why though, drowning?- also note of advice keep sugar water away from all mealworms and mealworm beetles
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.)
Re: Mealworm beatles
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.maliqua wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 6:29 pmwill do ty, curious why though, drowning?- also note of advice keep sugar water away from all mealworms and mealworm beetles
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.)
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
- Ant Care Sheets
Queen Hunting
How To Identify Ants
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