5 replies to this topic

[Socalfireants]

I've heard of people killing their colonies by giving pesticide contaminated fruit to their Ants accidentally. How do you get around this ?

[Alabama Anter]

Buy fruit that says 'organic' or pick your own fruit from your garden. Also, local farmers/minor farmers don't usually use pesticides so ask around on that.

[Serafine]

In Europe there are "bio" seals that guarantee pesticide-free fruits. Alnatura for example has only "bio" products. I gave my ants frozen raspberry bits and they liked it.

[drtrmiller]

In Europe there are "bio" seals that guarantee pesticide-free fruits.

If these designations are similar to organic certification in the US, they may only indicate that certain chemicals are not used as pesticides or herbicides. Organic produce farmers in the US often do use more natural pesticides and fertilizers, some of which can be dangerous to ants.

See: https://blogs.scient...al-agriculture/

In addition to pesticides or other harmful chemicals present on farmed produce, fruit mostly contains the sugar fructose, which is less preferred by ants to sucrose. Finally, as anyone who has left fruit in the refrigerator for too long can attest, the high water content in fruit makes it an excellent breeding ground for mold.

In my view, the risks of feeding questionable fruit far outweigh the possible benefits.

[Socalfireants]

 

In Europe there are "bio" seals that guarantee pesticide-free fruits.

If these designations are similar to organic certification in the US, they may only indicate that certain chemicals are not used as pesticides or herbicides. Organic produce farmers in the US often do use more natural pesticides and fertilizers, some of which can be dangerous to ants.

See: https://blogs.scient...al-agriculture/

In addition to pesticides or other harmful chemicals present on farmed produce, fruit mostly contains the sugar fructose, which is less preferred by ants to sucrose. Finally, as anyone who has left fruit in the refrigerator for too long can attest, the high water content in fruit makes it an excellent breeding ground for mold.

In my view, the risks of feeding questionable fruit far outweigh the possible benefits.

 

Then how do I go about feeding my ants a variety of natural plant matter? Both fruits and veggies are dangerous to ants. Yet i see many professional antkeepers who say ants NEED to be given fruit like apples. Staying away from produce effectively narrows down the variety of food I can give them. (In terms of non factory processed foods)

[drtrmiller]

No knowledgeable or experienced antkeeper would say ants "need" fruits and/or vegetables.

Ants need water, sugars, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to grow. The source of these nutrients doesn't matter, so long as they are readily consumed and in a bioavailable form (for example, we know that ants don't appear to derive much benefit from whey or casein, both milk proteins).

Many ants will thrive given a diet of sugar water (i.e. Sunburst Ant Nectar) and freshly killed insects like crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and others.

Edited by drtrmiller, March 31 2017 - 8:50 AM.