aphids

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

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kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

aphids

Post: # 66465Post kateroid
Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:32 pm

i am soon getting a lasius colony and i need to know what species of aphids can be milked by ants and i need to know how they look like.i need to know if lasius species milk aphids

AusAnts
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2019 5:09 am
Location: Darwin,Australia

Re: aphids

Post: # 66475Post AusAnts
Mon Jan 13, 2020 1:33 am

kateroid wrote:
Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:32 pm
i am soon getting a lasius colony and i need to know what species of aphids can be milked by ants and i need to know how they look like.i need to know if lasius species milk aphids
If you are trying to feed them carbohydrates which is what the ants get from the aphids. you could use honey or sugar water as an alternative.

I am not familiar with lasius but i would guess that they would milk aphids.
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kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: aphids

Post: # 66491Post kateroid
Mon Jan 13, 2020 6:34 pm

i am not trying to feed them manually. i am going to have aphids because it is less work to do and is more natural way to feed them

heyhowie
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jan 06, 2020 12:11 am
Location: Canberra

Re: aphids

Post: # 66509Post heyhowie
Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:13 am

Do you have live plants in the formicarium? Aphids produce their honeydew from the sap of trees/plants.

kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: aphids

Post: # 66554Post kateroid
Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:03 pm

yes i have plants in my terrarium

Ants4fun
Posts: 119
Joined: Sun Jul 26, 2015 10:44 am
Location: South Dakota

Re: aphids

Post: # 66753Post Ants4fun
Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:41 pm

‘Lasius’ will milk a variety of aphids, scale bugs, meally bugs, and more. You can attempt to introduce them into your vivarium, but there is no guarantee they will actually farm them.

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antnest8
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Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:11 pm
Location: Detroit, MI

Re: aphids

Post: # 66754Post antnest8
Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:45 pm

Aphid farming can work for your ants but in the wild they also use other scources of sugar.
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kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: aphids

Post: # 66763Post kateroid
Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:20 pm

I have formica fusca ants instead of the lasius ants and i need to know soon if they can farm scale insects

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antnest8
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Re: aphids

Post: # 66783Post antnest8
Wed Jan 22, 2020 5:05 pm

Formica fusca is known for farming insects.
Some of My Informative Sheets
https://forum.AntsCanada.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19099
Includes :
  • Ant Care Sheets
    Queen Hunting
    How To Identify Ants
Goal is to become #2 poster on the forum

kateroid
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 11, 2020 7:23 pm
Location: Toronto

Re: aphids

Post: # 66828Post kateroid
Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:12 am

thank you for the help!!!

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