12 replies to this topic

[Devi]

As the title implies, I am not a huge fan of stomping grasshoppers to provide my colonies with food.  Any good reputable foods that you buy or sell that you recommend?  Also, I apologize with all of the posts I've been making lately, I've had lots of questions about my ants.

 

EDIT:  I just supplied my pogonomyrmex with dandelions I found in my yard.  I have had queens die from mites because I put stuff from outside in there and hate risking my last queen...  I also need to buy seeds for them so I need those too.

Edited by Devi, August 23 2020 - 2:14 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Go to Joshsfrogs.com and order mealworms, dubia roaches, and crickets. Freeze the box as soon as it arrives and just thaw what you need.

[SleepyAsianAnter]

https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/

[Devi]

Wow...  I keep fish and frogs and have the exact same container of bloodworms that you showed in the picture.  Seriously, the exact same.  Thank you so much!  I will definitely be trying that, and will check out the Joshsfrogs site.   Thanks!!!

[AnthonyP163]

As the title implies, I am not a huge fan of stomping grasshoppers to provide my colonies with food.  Any good reputable foods that you buy or sell that you recommend?  Also, I apologize with all of the posts I've been making lately, I've had lots of questions about my ants.

 

EDIT:  I just supplied my pogonomyrmex with dandelions I found in my yard.  I have had queens die from mites because I put stuff from outside in there and hate risking my last queen...  I also need to buy seeds for them so I need those too.

Mites are typically species-specific, so if you didn't feed your queen workers from outside, she likely didn't get mites from outside.

[ANTdrew]

Good point, Anthony. Anything from outside should be flash boiled for three seconds before offering. Honestly, even commercial feeders should be boiled to prevent grain mites. I learned the hard way that freezin ain’t enough.

[NickAnter]

All my ants favorite food(except S. molesta) is termite workers. I used an aspirator to collect a couple hundred, and froze them in a snap cap vial. I take a couple out when I need to feed them, and then put it back in. As they are small, they warm quickly once placed in the ant's setup.

[ANTdrew]

Yup. Termites be like crack for ants.

[BlueLance213]

I also freeze my flies that I feed to my ants.

[OhNoNotAgain]

I haven't yet been freezing flies, but maybe I've been lucky with not having mites with fly spikes. I have taken to boiling a lot of bugs.

You can also get fruit flies and culture them yourself (lots of fruit fly culturing directions online), or build up your own colony of dubias, etc.

Fruit fly cultures tend to get mites but I salvaged one once by washing maggots off in the sink and starting with new substrate....

[M_Ants]

I haven't yet been freezing flies, but maybe I've been lucky with not having mites with fly spikes. I have taken to boiling a lot of bugs.

You can also get fruit flies and culture them yourself (lots of fruit fly culturing directions online), or build up your own colony of dubias, etc.

Fruit fly cultures tend to get mites but I salvaged one once by washing maggots off in the sink and starting with new substrate....

How much does it cost to keep your own fruit fly cultures going?

[Temperateants]

Go to Joshsfrogs.com and order mealworms, dubia roaches, and crickets. Freeze the box as soon as it arrives and just thaw what you need.

Not sure who to ask, so I'll put it here about Josh's frogs. I ordered a 1100 mealworm (A lof of die off, I don't blame them) but these weird dark brownish short worms came with them, so I cultured them and they became short black beetles (distinct from the darklings) and now I see some babies. What species are they?

[Temperateants]

 

I haven't yet been freezing flies, but maybe I've been lucky with not having mites with fly spikes. I have taken to boiling a lot of bugs.

You can also get fruit flies and culture them yourself (lots of fruit fly culturing directions online), or build up your own colony of dubias, etc.

Fruit fly cultures tend to get mites but I salvaged one once by washing maggots off in the sink and starting with new substrate....

How much does it cost to keep your own fruit fly cultures going?

 

not much, I bought a culture and put 10 adults in a jar with homemade media, and they became 50 cocoons. I was a complete idiot and didn't hydrate them when the media shrived so I am pretty sure they died, so you should hydrate them lol.