Pogonomyrmex Rugosus Diet??

[ThePositive]

Hey all,

I have a beautiful Pogo. Rugosus Queen and have a few questions about what exactly I should be feeding her.
I know from my research that they mostly consume seeds (hence the name Harvester Ants), and consume some dead insects on the side. What I'm wondering is, what type of seeds should I feed them? Is there a type of seed that they like that is easily accessible from the grocery store? Should I feed them more than one type of seed? Also, should I feed them some sort of sugar product? I have read some conflicting info about the pogo species, some say they dont normally find sweet things in the wild, and that I shouldnt give them sugar, and some say they should absolutely eat a sugary food.

Any advice on this species would be such a great help. Thanks in advance, AC family.

[Hawkeye]

Hey all,

I have a beautiful Pogo. Rugosus Queen and have a few questions about what exactly I should be feeding her.
I know from my research that they mostly consume seeds (hence the name Harvester Ants), and consume some dead insects on the side. What I'm wondering is, what type of seeds should I feed them? Is there a type of seed that they like that is easily accessible from the grocery store? Should I feed them more than one type of seed? Also, should I feed them some sort of sugar product? I have read some conflicting info about the pogo species, some say they dont normally find sweet things in the wild, and that I shouldnt give them sugar, and some say they should absolutely eat a sugary food.

Any advice on this species would be such a great help. Thanks in advance, AC family.

Hi there!

Some easily accessible seeds are: Sesame, Poppy, Pine, Sunflower, Grass, and so on. The first three are regularly used in cooking/baking so you can probably just get them at your local supermarket. As for which they prefer, that takes some trial and error I am afraid.

As for sugars, I think pretty much all ants need sugars in their diet. Wether they get it from nectar, aphids or other sources I don't think it matters much. It is a source of energy after all...