Mealworms, raw or cooked?

[UnrealSparks]

Should I like boil mealworms before feeding them to my ants or are they safe just pre-killed?

[TheRealAntMan]

I freeze my superworms before feeding time. But I only do this because I have young colonies that couldn’t deal with after death-spasms. But if you’re colony is large then you can feed them pre-killed. Note that if you have small ants it’s better to cut up the mealworms, as they have tough exoskeletons.

[LiveMalik]

i started feeding my young colony last week. i dip the worm in boiling water for a second or two. it seems to die instantly. then i cut it up and for now only give them a segment or two. today they reacted well to the meal.

[UnrealSparks]

Ok, thanks. My colony of Messor Barbarus is still pretty young, it only has a couple of months but it already has majors and about 50/60 workers and plenty of brood. I've cut the worm in 3 pieces and when I woke up this morning they had consumed it leaving only the exosceleton (except one piece they brought into the nest for the larvae to eat themselves).

One last question tough.
I'm currently giving them proteins every 2nd or 3rd day according to the size of the insect I give them but I already know that if I'll keep giving them mealworms only they'll get bored pretty quickly. I once gave them cricket legs and they absolutely loved it. So, should I buy frozen crickets and alternate with mealworms or will they eventually still get fed up by the limited variety?

[idahoantgirl]

That should be enough.

[UnrealSparks]

Ok, that's good news. Thanks for the informations!