20 replies to this topic

[ArmyAntz]

My ants will choose Dubia roaches over mealworms any day, any time, even if their only protein source is dubias.

 

Are they really that much better? One colony (20 workers) resorted to eating one of their first major larvae even though there was a fresh mealworm in their outworld. They showed interest in the mealworm at first, and fed from it a bit, but after a while they just forgot about it and left it there. When I placed a dead dubia nymph in the same spot not long after, they reacted immediately and dragged the entire thing into their nest.

 

Should I bother continuing to keep mealworms if my ants clearly prefer roaches as protein? Maybe I'm not gut loading my mealworms properly? Not sure.

[Serafine]

Yes, Dubias are much better than mealworms but food diversity is key, especially with certain ant genuses like Camponotus.

Mealworms aren't great as a base diet but they're a good food to mix in.

[ANTdrew]

Mealworms are my colonies’ least favorite feeders, but like Serafine said, variety is key. I cycle mealworms, dubias, crickets, and wild caught things like termites. I never repeat the same feeder two feedings in a row.
My biggest beef with mealworms is that they do not freeze well. They turn black when they thaw, and ants really don’t like them then.

[DDD101DDD]

I've never tried feeding dubia roaches to my ants, but yeah my Camponotus doesn't seem to like mealworms too much. They have them sit in the nest and turn black, only eating them when I didn't feed them for about 4 days. Same goes for my Lasius. They just left the mealworm body in the outworld, and only brought it in when I didn't feed them for a week.

[ArmyAntz]

Thanks for all your responses. I was afraid there might have been something wrong with the mealworms that caused their dislike, but it seems they're not too popular for ants anyway.

 

Currently the only feeder insects I raise are the dubias and mealworms, and occasionally I'll catch wild crickets which I freeze before feeding, so I think what I'll do is buy some actual crickets to breed for more variety.

[Serafine]

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

[ArmyAntz]

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

I'll look into waxworms. How are they nutrition-wise?

[DDD101DDD]

Fruit flies are also very useful feeders.

[FSTP]

I'm really a huge fan of feeding "little kenyan Roaches" (Blaberidae sp). They stay small ( the ♀ roaches max out just over half an inch) and the babies make great fruit fly substitutes for founding queens. The only thing is they are a bit slow to mature and increase in numbers compared to dubias, This maybe a plus for some or a downside for others, just depends on your situation and how many and how large your ant colonies are. 

 

My ants can't get enough of them. For me they are a staple feeder though I do alternate with crickets, blood worm soup and spiders. They are the only feeder insect I keep an active breeding colony of because they don't smell, are not noisy, and are not a potential pest if any escape. 

 

 

 

Off topic, Serafine I love your avatar, that's one of my favorite ant related movies and the sound track is amazing, I have it on vinyl, its great! 

[Serafine]

 

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

I'll look into waxworms. How are they nutrition-wise?

 

They are pretty high in fat but also smell (and probably taste) like honey. My ants love them but they are a massive colony of fifteenthousand ants, I guess smaller colonies will not need a lot of those (I have the big species of waxmoth and the largest larvae are around 4-5cm long).

The important thing is to contain the moths as they can infest food supplies and bore into wood as well. Acrylic boxes like Ikea Godmorgon boxes work fine for that.

Edited by Serafine, August 9 2020 - 4:22 PM.

[BlueLance213]

oh my goodness, those are some huge waxworms, I will admit I love how soft they are.

[ConcordAntman]

Interesting thread. Over the 2+ years I’ve had my Camponotus sp colonies, they’ve had a variable taste for mealworms. I’ve kept a live culture of them for feeding Bluebirds and tried them with my ants. I also tried rehydrating dried mealworms as a feeding source with some success. I’ve had some success flash freezing mealworms then chopping them up to feed to my ants. Haven’t had them turning brown this way. I agree that variety is best so when I finish off this culture of mealworms, I’ll likely try rotating between Dubias and crickets. I just freeze the entire shipment as soon as they arrive then feed them 2 or 3 at a time. I usually offer a mix of things (Apple slice with chopped mealworm, or Dubia, or gutted cricket) and let them pick what they please. 

[Kaelwizard]

They only blacken if they have been dead for a while, or in my case, while a spider is injecting digestive fluids into it. Other than that, they only blacken after a few hours or more.

[ArmyAntz]

 

 

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

I'll look into waxworms. How are they nutrition-wise?

 

They are pretty high in fat but also smell (and probably taste) like honey. My ants love them but they are a massive colony of fifteenthousand ants, I guess smaller colonies will not need a lot of those (I have the big species of waxmoth and the largest larvae are around 4-5cm long).

The important thing is to contain the moths as they can infest food supplies and bore into wood as well. Acrylic boxes like Ikea Godmorgon boxes work fine for that.

 

Thanks for the tips, I'll buy some of those and maybe some fruit flies as well to test out.

[ghoguma]

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

try to reach out to local reptailes shop to see if they sell crickets lower amount compare to 50 crickets at a time. I can buy 6 or 12 crickets at a time so I just go there to buy them whenever it is time to feed my ants. cheaper, don't have to go thru hassle to breed crickets, and easier lol

[TechAnt]

Can I acknowledge that this says “Dubais”

Also I would recommend fruit flies in honestly, they are silent, they can live in really small spaces, lots of ants love to eat them, they don’t generate tons of waste too, plus they are fairly easy to breed.

But what ConcordAntman pointed out, you NEED to have a balanced diet long term for your ants for them to succeed.

Edited by TechAnt, August 21 2020 - 6:26 AM.

[ConcordAntman]

 

Crickets are a mess to breed - they are loud, crap everywhere, cannibalize each other and they smell awful.

A fairly easy thing to breed are waxworms, you basically just need oat bran and honey but you need to make sure the moths don't escape.

try to reach out to local reptailes shop to see if they sell crickets lower amount compare to 50 crickets at a time. I can buy 6 or 12 crickets at a time so I just go there to buy them whenever it is time to feed my ants. cheaper, don't have to go thru hassle to breed crickets, and easier lol

 

Keep in mind, you can freeze them! Pop the entire container in the freezer as soon as they arrive. Their carapace keeps their moisture inside so they have a long shelf-life. Keep the package frozen and just take out the one or two you need for feeding as they thaw quickly. Don't leave the full package out as you feed your colonies since the whole batch will thaw and eventually spoil from too many freeze-thaw cycles. freeze tge whole batch and you'll have a flash frozen long term supply of feeder insects!

[Temperateants]

Mealworms are my colonies’ least favorite feeders, but like Serafine said, variety is key. I cycle mealworms, dubias, crickets, and wild caught things like termites. I never repeat the same feeder two feedings in a row.
My biggest beef with mealworms is that they do not freeze well. They turn black when they thaw, and ants really don’t like them then.

My tetras LOVE black mealworms and pupae that didn't develop properly lol.

[VenomousBeast]

My ants like mealworms more🤷‍♂️ I feed them apples and other fruits before feeding them so they get sweets and protein in one.

[AleeGuy]

My ants like mealworms more🤷‍♂️ I feed them apples and other fruits before feeding them so they get sweets and protein in one.

What fruits? I only feed them with apple, I want to give them some other fruits

Edited by AleeGuy, August 27 2020 - 3:13 PM.