3 replies to this topic

[Bashland]

 

My son has a couple camponotus (us-ca02 and Maritimus) queens with 5-7 workers.  He has been feeding them honey for a month+ while we figured out a next step for allowing larger feedings.  He now has them connected to AC Test tube portals.  He would like to begin feeding them protein. 

 

What type of protein should he feed them and what is the best way to source it?  Mealworms or crickets from the pet store?  And how do we avoid mites or other things that might be on the food from harming the ants?  Will freezing the insects first kill anything that might hurt the ants? 

 

He'd appreciate any insight or resources you might have.  

 

TYIA!!  

[ANTdrew]

Feed them protein immediately. A month of only sugars is way too long to wait. Good feeders are mealworms, crickets, dubia roaches, and wingless fruit flies. Flash boil everything for at least three seconds to kill mites. Freezing is a good way to store feeders, but it is not enough to kill mite eggs, unfortunately.

[bmb1bee]

Any kind of feeder insect will work, including dubias, mealworms, and crickets. There shouldn’t be anything harmful from pet store sourced feeders, but you could freeze them before feeding if you’d like. Freezing should kill any mites or parasites in the insects. And one more tip would be to cut the insects open when you feed the ants, just so that the ants can access the inside juices easier.

Edit: As ANTdrew said, boiling would be more effective than freezing to kill mites. I didn’t see that as I was typing this.

Edited by bmb1bee, August 26 2023 - 1:49 PM.

[BleepingBleepers]

I got a journal up that talks about CA 02 and diets and overall care of them.

 

I've recently tried freshly molted red runner roaches and they go nuts for that as they can easily eat the entire roach fast.

 

I haven't been so diligent with keeping mites out, I think those kinds of mites are all over the place and are impossible to keep out for long but I do try to keep the nest as clean as I can. Like even right now I'm 100% sure there's some kind of mites already in there as I can see path marks in the condensation on the glass. IMO, they're scavenger mites and are a cleanup crew and have their benefits, I think the point is to not let their numbers explode. I'm quite diligent in feeding just enough so the ants finish their food fast and I pick out any leftovers. I don't leave extra food in the outworld. I think the nice part of feeding insects with soft bodies is that they're able to eat the whole insect. I also hear it's a good idea to pin down food pieces to prevent ants from taking them into their nest. I do let them take one red runner (one the size of an ant or smaller) or fruit fly into their nest, after observation, have noticed that they're able to eat the whole prey in a few hours no problem. No remains means little or no problem.

Edited by BleepingBleepers, September 2 2023 - 8:36 AM.