3 replies to this topic

[futurebird]

Is it just my imagination or do many kinds of ants get *more* excited about a new kind of insect than one they have had before? I find I'm always trying new foods since they have the biggest reaction to whatever they have not tried before. Is this just how they get nutrition? 

 

Also Pogonomyrmex are supposed to be "seed eating ants" but as far as I can tell they are the least picky. Though that might be because I feed them about 3/4ths seeds and 1/4 various insects and sweets. They go nuts for any insect and are the only ants who eat it ALL. Even the exoskeleton. It's almost alarming. 

[Kaelwizard]

Ants seem to like new and different foods more because naturally they try not to completely exhaust a specific food source. Some people even have their colonies stop eating certain foods if there isn’t enough variety.

Edited by Kaelwizard, July 11 2021 - 7:17 AM.

[DDD101DDD]

My Camponotus always try to attack new foods.

[TestSubjectOne]

In terms of insects, I have only fed my colonies crickets for the past few months and I've noticed that they aren't having as strong of a feeding response as they had before, though their brood still grows normally. I have 100 dubia roaches coming in the mail for variety, and possibly to start a breeding colony so I can give my ants constant variety. I agree with your assessment of harvester ants. While my Veromessor pergandei would deny insects as a founding colony, I recently tried again and they seem more than happy to make whole crickets disappear overnight.