132 replies to this topic

[Trailandstreet]

how long will it be "best before" ?

[drtrmiller]

Bottles of Sunburst Ant Nectar have a shelf life of 2 years from the date of manufacture. A "Best By" date is printed on the product label.

Edited by drtrmiller, May 9 2017 - 10:21 PM.

[john.harrold]

It is shelf stable.  Refrigeration is not required.  The date was determined by examining products with similar ingredients and will be changed if it is determined that an adjustment is necessary.

 

Are you having issues, or were you just curious?

 

Hello Terry. I haven't had the nectar long enough to experience any problems. The question about the expiration date was more out of curiosity. For consumables I'm familiar with (namely pharmaceutics) they typically run shelf life tests that can take a while to complete. So I was a little surprised to see an expiration date given how new I thought this product was. But I think using similar products makes sense.

 

I think it would be good to indicate on the label that it should be stored at room temperature. 

Edited by john.harrold, July 23 2015 - 8:41 AM.

[drtrmiller]

A shelf life study would be necessary if the products were expected to reach a wider audience where product liability is a greater concern.

 

In the business of antkeeping products where customers can be counted on fingers, such stringent requirements would impede the ability of any product to ever get to market in the first place.

Edited by drtrmiller, July 23 2015 - 8:48 AM.

[Subverted]

My ants go nuts for this nectar mix. Terry asked me to take a look at some of it under my microscope and it gets a clean bill of health - no bacteria or anything questionable that I could find!

[drtrmiller]

The 07/2016 recipe containing honey will contain organisms naturally found dormant in honey, which will be made active due to the increased water content. This is the one subverted examined. None of the organisms or yeasts are believed to alter the product quality over time or to be harmful to ants.

The yellow recipe with at 6/2016 date does not contain honey and will be void of most any organisms, however.

Edited by drtrmiller, July 23 2015 - 9:24 AM.

[PTAntFan]

Unfortunately I have something growing in mine now. I can post a pic of you need it.

[drtrmiller]

It is not necessary.

 

As I stated earlier, some organisms persist in the 07/2016 recipe because special honeys were used and they were not heated.  The preservatives only have moderate efficacy at high PH, so some of the units may have naturally occurring aerobic organisms and yeasts found in honey.

 

Since none of the bottles I have on hand show any signs of deterioration, I can assume for now that the organisms only proliferate if the bottle is shaken so lots of air is introduced.

 

In any case, I can confirm that these do not pose a safety issue to ants, but I am recalling all units with that expiration date and will send you a replacement of the recipe that is properly prepared when it is available.

Edited by drtrmiller, August 4 2015 - 2:48 PM.

[drtrmiller]

Per my request, Amazon has removed the affected inventory of Sunburst Ant Nectar with the 07/2016 expiration date.

 

There is no known safety concern for the product.  However, users who purchased 07/2016 dated bottles may contact Amazon to replace the defective product within the 30-day return period.  Those outside the standard return period may contact byFormica for a free replacement.  Users may also continue to use the product normally, as there should be no harm in continuing to use the product.

 

Stop use and contact byFormica immediately if you have any potential safety issues to report.

[Roachant]

Has anyone else tried this yet? I'm getting some next week and would like to hear some other results.

[drtrmiller]

Has anyone else tried this yet? I'm getting some next week and would like to hear some other results.

 

If you "Ask a question" on the Amazon.com product page, it will send an email to everyone who has purchased it.  

 

One thing to note, is that two separate recipes were sold under the same SKU—a practice I've since discontinued after some quality concerns arose with one of the recipes. All stock of that batch was removed from sale per my request, and the current and only recipe for this product, going forward, is the yellow-colored one that does not contain honey.

[john.harrold]

Has anyone else tried this yet? I'm getting some next week and would like to hear some other results.

 

I have some from the 7/2016 batch. I never returned it or asked for a replacement because of a few reasons: I don't think there are any problems, I was feeding them honey before, and I store it and all the other ant food in the refrigerator. If I don't store the ant food in the fridge, I attract tiny black ants which bring with them minute amounts of irony on their backs.

 

I have a Camponotus sansabeanus  that I got from Drew back in June. I'm new to ant keeping (which I should now call formiculture). Since I don't really know what I'm doing, I've been experimenting with different foods, heating, etc. I also have some Formula Blue 100.

 

I use the Sunburst in a couple ways. Once a week or so, I take a Formula Blue cube and crush it, and put a drop Sunburst in the divot. I also have some whey protein and I'll mix a little of it with the Sunburst. Then occasionally I just give them a bug. 

 

Now I should tell you I have only a few workers, so I waste a bit of this stuff. But like I said I'm experimenting. I'm planning on writing up a review on Amazon after I've had some more experience. I can tell you that the workers fill up on it. It might just be my lack of experience but these ants generally seem to grow slowly. But things seem to have picked up in the last month since I started using the Sunburst.

Edited by john.harrold, August 17 2015 - 9:57 PM.

[Foogoo]

 

Has anyone else tried this yet? I'm getting some next week and would like to hear some other results.

 

I have some from the 7/2016 batch. I never returned it or asked for a replacement because of a few reasons: I don't think there are any problems, I was feeding them honey before, and I store it and all the other ant food in the refrigerator. If I don't store the ant food in the fridge, I attract tiny black ants which bring with them minute amounts of irony on their backs.

 

I have a Camponotus sansabeanus  that I got from Drew back in June. I'm new to ant keeping (which I should now call formiculture). Since I don't really know what I'm doing, I've been experimenting with different foods, heating, etc. I also have some Formula Blue 100.

 

I use the Sunburst in a couple ways. Once a week or so, I take a Formula Blue cube and crush it, and put a drop Sunburst in the divot. I also have some whey protein and I'll mix a little of it with the Sunburst. Then occasionally I just give them a bug. 

 

Now I should tell you I have only a few workers, so I waste a bit of this stuff. But like I said I'm experimenting. I'm planning on writing up a review on Amazon after I've had some more experience. I can tell you that the workers fill up on it. It might just be my lack of experience but these ants generally seem to grow slowly. But things seem to have picked up in the last month since I started using the Sunburst.

 

I'm going to have to try that, mixing it with Blue. I've had a similar experience with Sunburst so far, the ants seem to like it, but can't tell if they like it any more than regular sugar water.

[Roachant]

Well I tried it on all my ants, Camponotus Herculaneus, tetramorium, and Lasius alienus and they all love it. All my colonies immediately started to eat it and I even saw one C.herculaneus worker give some to the queen right after eating some!
So far, so good!

Oh, I would like to add that none of those colonies really went for honey or hummingbird food with the exception of the Lasius so, it looks like a good replacement for sugar foods.

Edited by Roachant, September 6 2015 - 2:23 PM.

[drtrmiller]

Well I tried it on all my ants, Camponotus Herculaneus, tetramorium, and Lasius alienus and they all love it. All my colonies immediately started to eat it and I even saw one C.herculaneus worker give some to the queen right after eating some!
So far, so good!

Oh, I would like to add that none of those colonies really went for honey or hummingbird food with the exception of the Lasius so, it looks like a good replacement for sugar foods.

 

Thanks for your feedback.  In addition to the ingredients, one thing that helps is the fact that that the formula is optimized, prepared, and ready-to-use with no mixing or room for user error.  I'm hoping to make Formula Blue 100 just as easy to use, one day.

 

Unfortunately, Sunburst is sold out.  I'll be preparing a large batch in the coming days, as well as a concentrated version for the EU and worldwide market.

[BrittonLS]

 

Well I tried it on all my ants, Camponotus Herculaneus, tetramorium, and Lasius alienus and they all love it. All my colonies immediately started to eat it and I even saw one C.herculaneus worker give some to the queen right after eating some!
So far, so good!

Oh, I would like to add that none of those colonies really went for honey or hummingbird food with the exception of the Lasius so, it looks like a good replacement for sugar foods.

 

Thanks for your feedback.  In addition to the ingredients, one thing that helps is the fact that that the formula is optimized, prepared, and ready-to-use with no mixing or room for user error.  I'm hoping to make Formula Blue 100 just as easy to use, one day.

 

Unfortunately, Sunburst is sold out.  I'll be preparing a large batch in the coming days, as well as a concentrated version for the EU and worldwide market.

 

Yeah. I actually went to go buy some. >.>

[BrittonLS]

Seriously Terry, I could use some of this junk. It would be really useful with the surprising amount of ants I have D:

[drtrmiller]

Will be available next week. Update to be posted here at that time.

[BrittonLS]

Will be available next week. Update to be posted here at that time.

 

Good to know

[Tpro4]

when he finishes:

"nice job, keep up the good work terry." - Terry

Edited by Tpro4, September 22 2015 - 9:32 PM.