Can i give my ants a moth??

[Antloverhuman]

So one ant died and another one seems to be dying. It lifts a leg in the air and walks weirdly. But if i think about it, in total 8-9 ants have died till now and i have this colony for 5 months so all the nanitics and the second generation of workers should be dying now. And the entire colony seems super fine, the queen, jeff and the brood too. Is it really because of the moth?

[AntsLuxembourg]

Is it really because of the moth?

Maybe not, maybe yes. As I explained, it's at your own risk.

I dint want my colony to eat wild insects but my parents think its cruel to buy insects like mealworms just to kill them

Since you parents find it cruel to buy insects to kill them, then I would like to ask your parents, isn't it cruel to buy meat (chicken, cow, pig, etc.) and (not) eat it? After all you just buy dead meat of an animal raised to be killed or killed after it's other purpose has been fulfilled. The other purpose being, laying eggs, reproduction or giving other farm products like mild and wool.

Makes one think, doesn't it.
Plus insects dying to other insects is a fairly common thing happening and just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not happening somewhere else in the wild. Ants mostly need other insects for their protein to survive.

If your parents want I can explain it to them.

[Antloverhuman]

Well the thing is.. its my dad who doesn't like the idea. And my mom just says no because they are worms and she doesn't like em. And my dad is pure vegetarian and doesn't even eat eggs so its gonna be pretty hard
Currently the ants are in very good condition and the queen seems to have laid another batch of eggs. The cold has slowed them down but they don't seem to stop. They are going to most likely conquer the world at this point

[Antloverhuman]

Also just a little thing i wanted to share- i caught a caterpillar!! I think it is a moth larvae. It is a decent size. I made it an enclosure filled with leaves which he very slowly eats but grows. Hopefully he becomes a nice fat moth( or a butterfly but i dont think there would be butterfly in this cold here)

[AntsLuxembourg]

Or you feed the caterpillar. It would be a bit faster and I am sure they would still eat that. OR you wait until it got into it's cocoon stage.

Well for your dad, you could tell him that you should not force your died onto other animals since they have evolved into what they are now. Lions, bears, wolfs and even squirrels eat other animals. Maybe not to the same extend or in the same amount but it is a fact that they do.

I don't know if it would be less bad for him if you grew your own feeder insects. Maybe that would be different. For your mom, yes meal worms are a bit like worms however if they are kept in a fridge they will not wiggle much and the container can even be opac so she doesn't have to see them.

Another solution could be that you just have to try protein jelly or boiled egg white. If they eat that, then you may have a substitute for insects. The only question is, does your colony want either of them. ^^

[Antloverhuman]

I haven't tried protein jelly but they seem to like hard boiled egg yolk more they dont seem interested in egg whites. And noooooo im definitely not giving them the caterpillar. I caught it to raise it not to give it to the ants lol. I looked for protein jelly in shops but they didn't have it. Do know where i can get them online?

[AntsLuxembourg]

I don't know about the jelly. You just need to look at your pet stores if they sell lizards and spiders etc.

About the caterpillar, I thought you wanted to feed the butterfly / moth to them. ^^

[Antloverhuman]

Hmm i see. There are enough mosquitos to make them go through the winters but I will have to buy mealworms at some point. Anyways thanks alot for the help