Hi!
Recently, I have been taking note of the foods that my ants always seem to eat, no matter how picky. I've provided a list of these things and their alternatives!
Sugar Water: This versatile liquid is a great beverage for ants. Sometimes, though, queens will not accept this.
Sugar grains: I've realized that those picky queens will appreciate some dry sugar separate from water, especially semi-claustral species.
Honey Water: Nearly all of my ants will eat this except for my Pseudomyrmex.
Honey: I give my Pseudomyrmex plain honey with water on the side. They always eat the honey and wash it down with some water.
Crickets: These bugs contain high protein levels, thus making them great for ants. For some reason though, some semi-claustral queens hate these bugs dead or alive. There are three great alternate foods for them, though.
Termites: Ants seem to love chowing down on these. Anything with a soft body is great for ants, but nymphs or alates tend to be good (no toxins or defenses). I don't really use termites, though, because I like termites.
Ant larvae: Wild or captive bred ant larvae of all species seem to be great for ants. If these are used as food, make sure to use eggs from a different species than the recipient.
Cricket food: Cricket gel diets seem to be great for semi-claustral and older fully claustral queens alike. Young claustral queens normally do not accept these, though.
BONUS! Termite food!
You can feed termites dampened tissues, paper, pieces of wood or dampened corks. Dry wood termites appreciate dry versions
of these as well as dampened.
I hope these help!
