Feeding new colony

[BuckeyeAntLover]

Hello everyone-
All 3 of my colonies have about 15 or less workers, 1 colony with only about 4 workers. The colony with about 15 workers is a Formica, the other 2 colonies are camponotus. How often should I be feeding them and how much? I started with a small cricket every few days along with some honey. I recently tried small cut up meal worms, but it looks like the worms are molding quickly. I don’t want to overfeed them as I don’t want a mold outbreak, however at the same time, I don’t want to underfeed them. Any tips would be appreciated.

Jeff

[Ryderw]

I'm just posting this because i want to be updated on replies as i want to know too (I have a colony ready to hatch out of a test tube)

[GreenTikiFire]

Me too! Is there a link to a guide for this?

Found MIkey's Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOx_-Y7xGoQ

[Hawkeye]

You might want to join our Camponotus Crew thread, where we've gathered a bunch of enthusiastic ant keepers.

As for the feeding, keep it interesting. Don't offer the same food over and over again or they'll lose interest. Have a look in your garden or the local park. Capture a variety of insects and or spiders. Freeze them to get rid of mites, parasites and bacteria and then thaw them and offer (parts of) them, thawed obviously.

Honey, sugar water, syrup, jam, a slice of Apple/melon or other fruits are a good source for sugars.

Just make sure the portions are manageable. 2 or 3 fruit flies might be better than a large house fly for instance. A lot depends on the species, the size of the ants and the colony itself.

The jelly part of wet cat/dog food seems to be a big hit as well if you're ever in a pinch to get protein