Can i give my ants a moth??

Posts and questions relating to ant diet & nutrition. Let us know what you’re feeding your ants.

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Antloverhuman
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Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 84998Post Antloverhuman
Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:01 am

I found one struggling to fly away and was just hopping around the floor. I think it might have wing injury but could this be because of parasite or pesticides? Should i give it to them?
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

AntsLuxembourg
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85020Post AntsLuxembourg
Mon Nov 15, 2021 5:06 am

Generally it is not recommended to feed your pet ants wild insects due to pesticides and parasites etc. However if you really want to take the risk, then you could give it a try. But that really just depends if you want to take the risk. Personally I wouldn't.
Doing some proper research is the best way to start an antcolony.

Need help or want to help? https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18153#p70566

Currently not keeping any ants anymore.

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Antloverhuman
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85021Post Antloverhuman
Mon Nov 15, 2021 5:48 am

I did some research and didn't find any thing related to parasitic moths. Instead it said they are very beneficial to insects as their food source. I read that they have special virus genes or something like that which protects them from parasitic wasps. It was not able to fly probably because of it was dieing of because of injury. I have kept it in the freezer for more than a day. Thanks for help but i think i will feed it to my ants. Though i will do some more research just to be safe :D
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

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Antloverhuman
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85078Post Antloverhuman
Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:13 pm

Ok so i gave them the moth and nothing really happened. I mean they tore its wings apart and took it home. I will keep an eye on them to see if they act strange
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

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Antloverhuman
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Location: Delhi, India

Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85079Post Antloverhuman
Mon Nov 15, 2021 11:15 pm

It did look like it had wing injury because one wing was very chipped and not the perfect curvy wing like a butterfly
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

AntsLuxembourg
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85088Post AntsLuxembourg
Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:55 am

It's mostly to avoid bringing a sick moth into the setup or colony and having a disease or bacteria or parasite spread. The first two are mostly invisible and hard to spot without equipment and too much work that is worth the effort. It's just like Covid-19. You don't know who got it since some show symptoms and some don't. Just thought I should put this up for debate / to make you think about it. ;)
Doing some proper research is the best way to start an antcolony.

Need help or want to help? https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18153#p70566

Currently not keeping any ants anymore.

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Antloverhuman
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85089Post Antloverhuman
Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:08 am

I cant find alot of info on parasites in moths. When i mean chipped it was like "shredded" .so far they are fine and they didn't eat the wings. I have seen moths really up close and their wings looked much more round and nicer than this one. I have seen some effect of bad wings in butterfly as i saw a guy giving a monarch butterfly prosthetic wings because its own wings were also a little broken. Lets saw the moth had parasite then is it possible for that parasite to transfer in ants? I mean evolution has gave the parasite enough time to realize that it can go in a moth. But why would the parasite go in ants? Just like disease in humans are not in other animals. Just like coronavirus cant be in any other animal
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

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Antloverhuman
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Joined: Wed May 19, 2021 3:38 am
Location: Delhi, India

Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85098Post Antloverhuman
Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:19 am

What symptoms should i look for if they are poisoned? Because if they were to die, alot of ants would die ant the same time rather than one ant dieing and the other one 5 days later.
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

EstheticAnts
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85107Post EstheticAnts
Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:01 am

Antloverhuman wrote:
Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:01 am
I found one struggling to fly away and was just hopping around the floor. I think it might have wing injury but could this be because of parasite or pesticides? Should i give it to them?
Freeze or boil them, then you can feed without a problem. You will notice ants leave a lot of the month behind because it has very little nutritious value.
Hi, I'm Esthetic Ants. I have kept over 20 species and currently keeping 18 personal colony's.

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Antloverhuman
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Re: Can i give my ants a moth??

Post: # 85109Post Antloverhuman
Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:10 am

Yeah i froze it for an entire day and they left all the wings behind. I dint want my colony to eat wild insects but my parents think its cruel to buy insects like mealworms just to kill them :roll:
Ants I have-
camponotus compressus colony- the shadow warriors.
Pls just let me have a tetramorium colony

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