16 replies to this topic

[skocko76]

I noticed a lot of Spanish and French ant keepers recommend feeding milk to ants. 

I tried that briefly in the past, and it didn't work. 

Being in the Mediterranean, I should have pretty similar species locally, so milk should have worked.

Also, I read a paper somewhere stating that ant digestive system is unable to process lactose... so that would work to corroborate my experience.

 

What's your experience with feeding milk to ants?

 

[Antcatcherpro3]

I've never even known that was a thing.

[Kaelwizard]

I noticed a lot of Spanish and French ant keepers recommend feeding milk to ants. 

I tried that briefly in the past, and it didn't work. 

Being in the Mediterranean, I should have pretty similar species locally, so milk should have worked.

Also, I read a paper somewhere stating that ant digestive system is unable to process lactose... so that would work to corroborate my experience.

 

What's your experience with feeding milk to ants?

I don't think anyone on the forum feeds their ants milk, and if someone does, I don't know of them.

Edited by Kaelwizard, April 1 2021 - 7:02 AM.

[ZTYguy]

I had know idea, i mean i feed my ants a sugar mix which sometimes smelles like milk if left out but not really something i'd think of doing.

[ANTdrew]

I’m kind of doubtful they could digest the lactose.

[AntsMaryland]

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies. 

Edited by AntsMaryland, April 1 2021 - 8:09 AM.

[skocko76]

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies. 

Good point!

But...

This may be naiive of me, but what are we wary of in industrial products? Antibiotics? Could they harm our ants?
Also, does non-organic honey contain pesticides? Wouldn't that harm the bees that produced it?

And "fake" honey is mostly corn or rice syrup ...which is not harmful to ants in itself...except IT could contain a lot of pesticides.

Personally, I don't grow feeder insects. I wack any fly that gets into my living space and feed it to the ants. I don't freeze nor boil the insects. Haven't had any ants die due to that, not ever had mites.

 

Was I just stupidly lucky thus far? Have you had antpocalypses due to unverified sources of feed?

Edited by skocko76, April 1 2021 - 10:15 AM.

[skocko76]

I've never even known that was a thing.

Yeah, although they don't use it plain. They add different sugars and protein powder to the mix.

Also, their protein jellies are based on fermented milk.

 

I personally attested that plain milk is not appetizing to ants...at least to species I have.

[AntsMaryland]

 

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies. 

Good point!

But...

This may be naiive of me, but what are we wary of in industrial products? Antibiotics? Could they harm our ants?
Also, does non-organic honey contain pesticides? Wouldn't that harm the bees that produced it?

And "fake" honey is mostly corn or rice syrup ...which is not harmful to ants in itself...except IT could contain a lot of pesticides.

Personally, I don't grow feeder insects. I wack any fly that gets into my living space and feed it to the ants. I don't freeze nor boil the insects. Haven't had any ants die due to that, not ever had mites.

 

Was I just stupidly lucky thus far? Have you had antpocalypses due to unverified sources of feed?

 

Ah yeah. In the United States when they say "organic" they don't mean pesticide or insecticide free. Instead, the pesticides, etc have to be organic and not synthetic... I'm also not quite sure if the pesticides and other potentially harmful material that can be found in honey is from the area where the bees got their nectar OR if the preservatives are added and those can be harmful (yes, I know pesticides and preservatives are two different things – I'm just being general).

 

As far as milk, I am in no way well researched in how milk production works and what "organic" milk actually means in the United States. Personally, I like to learn from other people's mistakes and prefer not to make them myself. If people start using milk and it doesn't kill their colonies – I might try. I just wouldn't want to be one of the people trying it out around here.

[drtrmiller]

I haven't seen any research to suggest an ant species that is receptive to lactose, but there are plenty of studies and my own observation shows that ants are NOT attracted to lactose.

 

Some people suggest that whey and casein in milk are a good source of protein for ants.  But I have been unable to replicate the results of any experiments that feed these diets to ants.  Brood development stalls and the ants generally fail to thrive when fed diets containing the milk proteins whey and casein.

 

For these reasons, I do not recommend feeding ants milk or any type of milk product.

[skocko76]

Thanks for sharing your experience.
It coincides with my observation, though I haven't made empiric tests.

[Kaelwizard]

 

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies. 

Good point!

But...

This may be naiive of me, but what are we wary of in industrial products? Antibiotics? Could they harm our ants?
Also, does non-organic honey contain pesticides? Wouldn't that harm the bees that produced it?

And "fake" honey is mostly corn or rice syrup ...which is not harmful to ants in itself...except IT could contain a lot of pesticides.

Personally, I don't grow feeder insects. I wack any fly that gets into my living space and feed it to the ants. I don't freeze nor boil the insects. Haven't had any ants die due to that, not ever had mites.

 

Was I just stupidly lucky thus far? Have you had antpocalypses due to unverified sources of feed?

 

Pesticides would be added after it is taken from the bees. There was recently a thread about how people's colonies have died after consuming honey.

[NickAnter]

Uhh, no. Honey is naturally antibacterial, and on its own, as long as it is not diluted, can last, in theory, hundreds of years. The only way the pesticides would come i would be through the bees making it themselves. I personally am of the opinion that it could be the plastic containers the honey is in, not necessarily the honey itself.

 

 

 

Pesticides would be added after it is taken from the bees. There was recently a thread about how people's colonies have died after consuming honey.

 

civilizations.

 

 

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies. 

Good point!

But...

This may be naiive of me, but what are we wary of in industrial products? Antibiotics? Could they harm our ants?
Also, does non-organic honey contain pesticides? Wouldn't that harm the bees that produced it?

And "fake" honey is mostly corn or rice syrup ...which is not harmful to ants in itself...except IT could contain a lot of pesticides.

Personally, I don't grow feeder insects. I wack any fly that gets into my living space and feed it to the ants. I don't freeze nor boil the insects. Haven't had any ants die due to that, not ever had mites.

 

Was I just stupidly lucky thus far? Have you had antpocalypses due to unverified sources of feed?

 

Pesticides would be added after it is taken from the bees. There was recently a thread about how people's colonies have died after consuming honey.

 

 

[steelplant]

I fed my ants liver pate (liver blended with cream) a few weeks ago and they seemed to love it. Fed them it again yesterday and zero interest. So maybe they had trouble digesting it. Fermented dairy might be different as they might be supplementing gut microbiome. And the lactose would have been broken down by the flora/fauna.

Pesticides in honey come mostly from the environment the bees are foraging in. Whatever they've replaced neonicotinoids with here is better for birds and animals but even worse for insects. Crazy how we poison our world.

[SpaceX1193]

I hardly trust the honey from the grocery store (depending on the brand, quality, organic or not, etc)... I don't think I'll ever feed milk to my colonies.

Good point!
But...
This may be naiive of me, but what are we wary of in industrial products? Antibiotics? Could they harm our ants?
Also, does non-organic honey contain pesticides? Wouldn't that harm the bees that produced it?
And "fake" honey is mostly corn or rice syrup ...which is not harmful to ants in itself...except IT could contain a lot of pesticides.
Personally, I don't grow feeder insects. I wack any fly that gets into my living space and feed it to the ants. I don't freeze nor boil the insects. Haven't had any ants die due to that, not ever had mites.

Was I just stupidly lucky thus far? Have you had antpocalypses due to unverified sources of feed?

Some beekeepers actually use ant Deterrent in their beehives so it’s possible but really my ants have been fine with store bought honey.

[gs5248]

Well, although ants won't really drink milk, they do seem to accept cheese in my experience. Probably because the lactose content in cheese in very low.

[JoeByron]

I mean, I did find this 

So I guess they do drink it. However ants are clumsy and even in this video you can see some workers fall into the milk and drown. Not to mention all of the bacterial issues that come with milk, I would avoid it just for sanitation issues.

 

My understanding of milk in all creatures is that it has taken many years for our stomachs to get use to consuming it. But ants have also been around? Interesting question. Might be fun to do some studies on.