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Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:46 pm
by Serafine
Yes, ants can drink maple syrup. In fact it's better than honey (seriously, how is everyone think honey is so great for ants, like when do ants get access to honey in the wild?).
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:37 pm
by Jadeninja9
Knew it lol
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:23 pm
by StormDancer
Well, considering maple syrup doesn't occur in the wild and honey does, I would say they have the ability to come across it. I do think real maple syrup is just as good as honey for their needs but it is comparatively more expensive. Most maple syrup in stores is imitation. However, honey is not the source of most wild ant's sugar. Neither is syrup since it is by far not a naturally occurring substance. They get sugar from flower nectar or plant sap, or insects that produce honeydew. Or the junk we happen to litter around as humams.
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:40 pm
by Jadeninja9
StormDancer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:23 pm
Well, considering maple syrup doesn't occur in the wild and honey does, I would say they have the ability to come across it. I do think real maple syrup is just as good as honey for their needs but it is comparatively more expensive. Most maple syrup in stores is imitation. However, honey is not the source of most wild ant's sugar. Neither is syrup since it is by far not a naturally occurring substance. They get sugar from flower nectar or plant sap, or insects that produce honeydew. Or the junk we happen to litter around as humams.
Serafine wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2017 3:46 pm
Yes, ants can drink maple syrup. In fact it's better than honey (seriously, how is everyone think honey is so great for ants, like when do ants get access to honey in the wild?).
I just read that natural sap is actually 2% sugar and 98% water. Maple Syrup is more sugary than honey but contains fewer calories. Contains calcium, potassium, and magnesium lol. So I guess ants wouldn't really be consuming sap in the wild unless that 2% of sugar is actually a good amount of them.
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:30 pm
by StormDancer
It depends on the plant the sap comes from on the sugar content but ultimately you're correct. Mostly nectar and insect honeydew.
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:18 am
by Serafine
StormDancer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:23 pm
Well, considering maple syrup doesn't occur in the wild and honey does, I would say they have the ability to come across it.
Most ant colonies will not see a single drop of honey in their entire lifetime. Ants cannot just invade a random bee nest, it needs a bear or a falling tree to crack a bee hive first.
Also maple syrup is mostly sucrose which can be digested best by ants, while honey is mostly fructose and glucose with a very small amount of sucrose (around 2%). They can still drink honey but it's no ideal.
There may be some ants that love honey but my experience is that if provided with an alternative like sugar water or maple syrup the ants will usually prefer it over the honey. My Camponotus even completely ignore any honey I offer them.
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 11:59 am
by Jadeninja9
Serafine wrote: ↑Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:18 am
StormDancer wrote: ↑Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:23 pm
Well, considering maple syrup doesn't occur in the wild and honey does, I would say they have the ability to come across it.
Most ant colonies will not see a single drop of honey in their entire lifetime. Ants cannot just invade a random bee nest, it needs a bear or a falling tree to crack a bee hive first.
Also maple syrup is mostly sucrose which can be digested best by ants, while honey is mostly fructose and glucose with a very small amount of sucrose (around 2%). They can still drink honey but it's no ideal.
There may be some ants that love honey but my experience is that if provided with an alternative like sugar water or maple syrup the ants will usually prefer it over the honey. My Camponotus even completely ignore any honey I offer them.
I just use agave nectar lol
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 5:08 pm
by Antsanyone
Huh, I never thought about that! This is a good point, though, and I'll have to try it with my ants. Maple syrup is coming up!
Re: can ants have maple syrup
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:13 am
by Hawkeye
Hey everyone,
First of all I agree that most ants in nature won't come across honey. As for the syrup / sap part of the discussion, I think there might be a third party involved that is being overlooked... Aphids
They dine on plant sap and then secrete what is basically a very concentrated sugar sollution (or syrup). Which is what makes it so attractive to ants. So I guess that means that ants will have access to maple syrup in nature?