15 replies to this topic

[Ants4ever7]

Just wondering. Can I feed my nanitics little bits of meat? Is grease ok?

[AntsTx]

Just wondering. Can I feed my nanitics little bits of meat? Is grease ok?

I have fed my ants chicken before, so I think it's ok as long as there isn't too much grease and you trust the place you got it at to not have anything harmful to the ants.

[AntsGodzilla]

fruit flies are also great

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

fruit flies are also great

I think they mean meat like beef ect.

 

But it should be fine if their isn't a ton of grease. My ants love ckicken for example.

[AntsGodzilla]

 

fruit flies are also great

I think they mean meat like beef ect.

 

But it should be fine if their isn't a ton of grease. My ants love ckicken for example.

 

Hmm. I've never tried meat.

[ANTdrew]

Read this carefully: https://www.formicul...view=getnewpost

[rptraut]

Hello Ants4ever7;

 

I've written posts about how I've fed meat products to all of my ants, from nanitics to large colonies.    The first protein meal I always give nanitics is cooked chicken liver.   I actually only feed insects as a treat.    This means a couple of things that make keeping ants much easier.    First, it's easy to prepare and feed meat and I know exactly how much protein I'm giving each colony, something that's difficult to know when feeding insects.   Second, less trash to clean up afterwards.   This is especially important when keeping larger colonies that would create a lot of garbage if I had to provide the equivalent amount of protein with insects.   I think a varied meat diet for ants provides better nutrition than feeding only two or three kinds of insects.  

 

I wrote a post about a Camponotus colony that I only fed meat products for an entire year.   You'll find information about the meat products I feed, how I prepare them and many other details. 

You'll find that post here    Results From Two Feeding Experiments by RPT - General Ant Keeping - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

You'll find more information details about feeding meat products in another post here   Feeding Time at the Zoo - General Ant Keeping - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

RPT

[Ants4ever7]

Thank you

[cooIboyJ]

Whenever I give my new colonies protein it is in the form of flys that I caught at the park. I think that flys are one of the best proteins for new colonies because, the flys are mostly meat, which means that a small fly will provide a lot of food, and flys are also great because they are soft-bodied insects, and that means that they are really easy to get into, especially for the weaker nanitic workers. Another good thing to feed new colonies would be spiders. I have never fed my ants spiders but other people say that they work really well for their ants. I hope this helps!

[Ants4ever7]

What is best for nanitics, chicken, cricket leg, or flies?

[ANTdrew]

The best protein sources come from insects. Fruit flies are a convenient size for small colonies, and very little mess is left behind.

[cooIboyJ]

Flys would probably be the best because they are soft so the ants can get tot he good stuff easily. Cricket legs are tough and hard to get into unless you chop it up.

[rptraut]

Hello Ants4ever7;

In my opinion, all three are good for nanitics and ants in general. Shave the chicken and split open the cricket legs and flies for easy access. Feeding a variety of foods is good for a colony, feed them all three and other foods, alternating them and your ants won’t get bored eating the same thing.
RPT

[cooIboyJ]

Another thing you can feed to ants and nanitics is earwigs. You can see about it here: https://www.formicul...wig#entry241240

[AntsGodzilla]

 

fruit flies are also great

I think they mean meat like beef ect.

 

But it should be fine if their isn't a ton of grease. My ants love ckicken for example.

 

is bbq chicken ok?

[rptraut]

Hello AntsGodzilla;

 

I've fed bbq chicken to my ants but I first removed the skin and any trace of bbq sauce that's on the meat.   Many ants don't like vinegar, a sauce ingredient.   I've even washed and dried the meat before freezing it.   

RPT