Carbohydrates

[Alex07]

Hey ant family,
I have a question regarding their carbs. Currently the only access to carbohydrates is their sugar water. I have one regular test tube with water and one mixed with nectarine and water (2/3 water). Would it still be recommended to add honey or some other form of sugar plus the sugar water? I used to place a little feeder with organic honey but switched a few months ago to the test tube. My colony is about a year old. And they are camponotus species if it matters.

Thanks,
Alex

[Hawkeye]

Hey ant family,
I have a question regarding their carbs. Currently the only access to carbohydrates is their sugar water. I have one regular test tube with water and one mixed with nectarine and water (2/3 water). Would it still be recommended to add honey or some other form of sugar plus the sugar water? I used to place a little feeder with organic honey but switched a few months ago to the test tube. My colony is about a year old. And they are camponotus species if it matters.

Thanks,
Alex

Hi Alex,

As long as your ants have access to both sugars and protein they should be fine. Is nectarine a syrup that you dilute with water? If that's the case, it's likely that it will contain a lot of processed sugars. Simply dissolving some (brown) sugar into water will do the trick just fine.

Also you might like to join the Camponotus Crew thread if you'd like to exchange experiences with other ant keepers. (See signature)

[Alex07]

Hey ant family,
I have a question regarding their carbs. Currently the only access to carbohydrates is their sugar water. I have one regular test tube with water and one mixed with nectarine and water (2/3 water). Would it still be recommended to add honey or some other form of sugar plus the sugar water? I used to place a little feeder with organic honey but switched a few months ago to the test tube. My colony is about a year old. And they are camponotus species if it matters.

Thanks,
Alex

Hi Alex,

As long as your ants have access to both sugars and protein they should be fine. Is nectarine a syrup that you dilute with water? If that's the case, it's likely that it will contain a lot of processed sugars. Simply dissolving some (brown) sugar into water will do the trick just fine.

Also you might like to join the Camponotus Crew thread if you'd like to exchange experiences with other ant keepers. (See signature)

Yes, it's ant nector. I forgot where I bought but the instructions said 2/3 water. I'll switch it up with the brown sugar and experiment. Thanks, I will look up that thread now.