The AntsCanada Ant Forum's

i have a formica fusca colony (because im new to antkeeping) and i need ideas for food very soon because my ants love meat but i cant offer them any because there are no insects in my house except my super worm which i can offer them to eat but i want to feed my ants beetle meat so i have two questions 1.is beetle meat tasty for ants? 2. what else can i give them (ex. protein jelly recipe)

You can give them any bug but i would recommend freezing them first. You would also need to feed them a sugar source, This can either be fruit, honey or sugar water (50% sugar 50% water).

I would check your local pet store to see if they sell feeder crickets. I purchase crickets and freeze them to feed my Formica colony. Some sites state that Formica are able to get legumes but mine will not eat any. I think they are picky eaters (my colony at least). One safe method you could try are hard boiled or scrambled eggs.

In my experience, its a bit of a trial and error game with your coloines.
I have two Rhytidoponera metallica colonies, both around the same size, and they both behave very differently.

One colony will take a whole cricket straight into the test tube and leave it with the larve untill it is no more, the other colony I have only ever seen maybe a leg make it into the chamber. They both seem to have very little interest in apples, honey and oates.

Similarly, I have what appears to be a Camponotus castaneus colony that will take the cricket off the feeding tray and leave it, but then devour the honey. They also seem to struggle walking on sand! (?) which is amusing and slightly strange.. https://youtu.be/OfnXcEPhC_4