Covering up food.

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Ant108
Posts: 102
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:55 pm

Covering up food.

Post: # 52013Post Ant108
Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:46 pm

I feed my messors dandelion seeds,they store the dark seed part and break off the fluffy part and use them to cover fruit pieces.why? They also wedge these fluffies into nooks. They go crazy for these seeds!
Keeper of:
* Messor Barbarus
* 1 Crematogaster Scutellaris queen 1 worker.

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Whitelotus
Posts: 72
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 5:50 pm
Location: San Joaquin County, California

Re: Covering up food.

Post: # 52050Post Whitelotus
Sun Oct 07, 2018 3:39 pm

I have not feed my tetramorium colony these seeds myself but from what I have noticed with almost everything I feed them, they tend to cover the food or surround it with a fake sand I have in their out world. They do this so that is difficult for other animals or predators to notice the food they are eating. They may just be using parts of the dandelion seed to cover up the food they are eating/harvesting. As to why they are storing the fluffy portions in to various places is beyond me.

Please update if you have made any other observations regarding this behavior if you wish.

Ant108
Posts: 102
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:55 pm

Re: Covering up food.

Post: # 52057Post Ant108
Sun Oct 07, 2018 4:54 pm

It seems the food they cover is way too big to carry away. They would also use bits of sand to cover food.
Keeper of:
* Messor Barbarus
* 1 Crematogaster Scutellaris queen 1 worker.

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