Best insect for feeding L. Niger??

[DCheezi]

I've been watching ant videos for years and I've ordered a L. Niger queen, workers and brood online, and an acrylic farm for them. It's got a decent sized feeding arena on it, so I'm not too worried about the size of food, but it looks like everyone feeds them something different Here's a list of what I've seen-
Dubia roaches
Mealworms
Crickets
Curly-wing fruit flies
Spiders(???)
What do you feed your L. Nigers? I'm completely lost, the ants aren't coming for a few days and it looks like they come with a cricket head but I would like to get protein sorted for when I move them in. I'm 17 so I can't buy something very expensive like a starter colony of morio worms

[LasiusSapien]

mario worms didn't go down so well with my lasius tbh i'd leave worms until the colony is in the hundreds as worms are quite fatty and will congeal with in a few hours, what i do feed them and pretty much all my ants are, small to medium sized crickets,grasshoppers as well as spiders, fruit flys, crane fly(when they were around) and woodlice too, i would avoid beetles unless you don't mind crushing them up as there armor is far to tough also any wild caught insects could possible have diseases and or parasites in them so i'd suggest freezing them to kill any nasty they might be carrying

[DCheezi]

mario worms didn't go down so well with my lasius tbh i'd leave worms until the colony is in the hundreds as worms are quite fatty and will congeal with in a few hours, what i do feed them and pretty much all my ants are, small to medium sized crickets,grasshoppers as well as spiders, fruit flys, crane fly(when they were around) and woodlice too, i would avoid beetles unless you don't mind crushing them up as there armor is far to tough also any wild caught insects could possible have diseases and or parasites in them so i'd suggest freezing them to kill any nasty they might be carrying

That's great to hear! There's a jollyes near me that sells small tiny crickets, and I reckon they'll fit well in the feeding arena. Also I didn't know that about the beetles, I was about to pull the trigger on dubia roaches before I remembered the forum. How often do you feed your lasius?

[Hawkeye]

That's great to hear! There's a jollyes near me that sells small tiny crickets, and I reckon they'll fit well in the feeding arena. Also I didn't know that about the beetles, I was about to pull the trigger on dubia roaches before I remembered the forum. How often do you feed your lasius?

Hey there!

You can probably feed them anything you like, as long as you take a hard exoskeleton into account (pre-cut) and the speed at which the food decays (like the worms.) I'd say it's a bit of trial and error to find out what your colony likes. As to how often, that depends on the size of your colony and how hungry they are really. Keep an eye on how interested they are in the food. If it is gone within a day, you will want to feed again soon. If it is still there after 3 days, remove the food and wait for a couple of days to feed again. (They likely have pieces of food stored in their nest and will have full (social) stomachs, so there's no need to feed them)

Definitely listen to Lasius:

Any wild-caught insects could possibly have diseases and or parasites in them so I'd suggest freezing them to kill any nasty they might be carrying.

You wouldn't want your fledgeling colony to be infected if you can avoid it.

[DCheezi]

Hey there!

You can probably feed them anything you like, as long as you take a hard exoskeleton into account (pre-cut) and the speed at which the food decays (like the worms.) I'd say it's a bit of trial and error to find out what your colony likes. As to how often, that depends on the size of your colony and how hungry they are really. Keep an eye on how interested they are in the food. If it is gone within a day, you will want to feed again soon. If it is still there after 3 days, remove the food and wait for a couple of days to feed again. (They likely have pieces of food stored in their nest and will have full (social) stomachs, so there's no need to feed them)

Definitely listen to Lasius:

Any wild-caught insects could possibly have diseases and or parasites in them so I'd suggest freezing them to kill any nasty they might be carrying.

You wouldn't want your fledgeling colony to be infected if you can avoid it.

Okok, I'll keep the feeding times in mind. And yeah, I'd be gutted if they ended up catching any nasties and died, I'm going to stick to store-brought for now. I'm glad I came here! Crickets seem like a decent choice for me at the start

[Vincex]

Small flyless fruitflys are perfect I find just pop two or 3 into freezer for 10 mins and give to them ! They never refuse them

[Formicarufa]

I feed my lasius niger colonies Mediterranean flour moth larvae
My ants rejected woodlice and earwigs

Also the moths are super easy to keep

The ants are chewing on the cotton, even when I feed them honey and protein

Any ideas

[SkeleAnt]

The ants are chewing on the cotton, even when I feed them honey and protein

Any ideas

With my own ants, they chew on the cotton on the wet side for a drink, and also to pull it apart a bit to organize their space. My one colony pulled some cotton around to make a little cover over where they keep the brood. Anytime they're disturbed, like for feedings, they rush to grab the brood and stash them there, so they might be chewing it for that reason.

[Formicarufa]

My ants pull the cotton from the dry side

Slightly confused as to why

Do you have any other tips for lasius

[SkeleAnt]

My ants pull the cotton from the dry side

I dig a little bit of digging about pulling cotton in general, wet or dry, and there's a couple of reasons. One is like why mine do it, to organize their space, to make an area for garbage away from the brood, etc. Another reason might be, as the first ants of the colony, that they're trying to get out of their claustral cell (in this case, the test tube) to go look for food, since the oldest ants need to go foraging for food once they're old enough, otherwise everyone will starve because the queen doesn't have any more food stores to care for herself and the brood. Even if you're feeding them, they might still feel compelled to do this.

I'm pretty new to ant keeping, and my first 2 colonies are actually formica subsericea, not lasius like I originally thought, so I'm lacking on the specifics for your species, but I hope this helps with some ideas on why they're still pulling the cotton.