Ive had a wild caught Camponotus colony for about three years. In those three years I have tried everything online that i could find for them to eat. They currently and only ever accepted crickets(Killed) and sugar water that is 1/2 water 1/2 sugar. No honey, organic, processed, etc. No other bugs like meal worms, worms, etc. No meat products from fridge. I did catch them liking an apple slice for about one day then were done with those. What else can I try??
PS all food tried was gladly accepted by my other five colonies Ive started with catching a queen(Now in 2nd year) and they all are same species except about two are different Camponotus subspecies.
(To clarify about why i caught them wild -they're habitat was about to be destroyed by a contractor putting in new homes. I had watched that colony the previous year and didn't want to see such a healthy beautiful thing destroyed, so i caught the queen and about 200 workers. There was very little issues with the transfer and in the end about 20 of them died, but the colony quickly replaced them. No issues since except picky eating.).
Camponotus ants too picky in eating
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Re: Camponotus ants too picky in eating
Interesting enough I gave my novaeboracensis colony seeds and they filled their test tube up with them. Other than that I feed them fruit flies and crickets.
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: Camponotus ants too picky in eating
One tough thing I found about camponotus, is they have repletes. So they fill up on some food, then may not eat again for weeks depending on how much food they are using.
Mickey also encountered this, he thought his colony was dead, but they just had repletes so they did not have to come out of their home to eat every week.
I do once in a while see one of my ants drinking for a minute, but then they just go around exploring. Though, my camponotus LOVE chasing fruit flies(flightless), but even then they dont always eat them. Some times I find little piles of fruit flies in their nest that have been killed but not eaten yet.
Mickey also encountered this, he thought his colony was dead, but they just had repletes so they did not have to come out of their home to eat every week.
I do once in a while see one of my ants drinking for a minute, but then they just go around exploring. Though, my camponotus LOVE chasing fruit flies(flightless), but even then they dont always eat them. Some times I find little piles of fruit flies in their nest that have been killed but not eaten yet.
Keeper of:
1x Formica Pacifica
2x Camponotus Modoc
1x Tetramorium Immigrans
2x Lasius Sp
Founding:
3x Lasius Sp
2x Formica Argentea
2x Myrmica Rubra
GAN Farmer: 4 Colonies sold
Goal: Supply school science classes with colonies for learning.
1x Formica Pacifica
2x Camponotus Modoc
1x Tetramorium Immigrans
2x Lasius Sp
Founding:
3x Lasius Sp
2x Formica Argentea
2x Myrmica Rubra
GAN Farmer: 4 Colonies sold
Goal: Supply school science classes with colonies for learning.
Re: Camponotus ants too picky in eating
Camponotus have been known to LOVE sugar water and sugar water only it seems.
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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