9 replies to this topic

[Saltynuts]

I'm looking for insects both that solenopsis invicta favor, and that I can buy cheap and that will last a long time, preferably self-replenishing.  My thought is to try and find a termite colony, and feed those suckers to death, so I can feed the worker/soldier termites to the ants from time to time.  But that will take some time.  I'm looking for something I can buy.  My first though is earthworms (night crawlers).  They are soft bodied, and after a rain when they crawl on the sidewalks the solenopsis tear them up.  I could just keep them in a giant plastic bin with dirt and pull them out as necessary.  Thoughts?  Also crickets can be ordered cheap, although it looks like their life span is 3 months or so.  Not sure if they would be self-replenishing.  Wingless fruit flies?  Same questions.

 

Thanks for any thoughts!

[super_oil]

Anything alive will do. They can eat mealworms just fine.

[ultraex2]

Feed them all of them - mealworms, crickets, fruit flies, worms, even leftovers from dinner as Solenopsis Invicta aren't picky.

[123LordOfAnts123]

Laboratory colonies have been reared to maturity on tuna, mealworms, and sugar water alone. They're by far from picky nor do they require much variety.

[Saltynuts]

Thanks guys!  OK, I'll order a few different insects.  Interesting, I left some steak in there for them, both a fatty piece and a meaty, protein piece, and they did not touch it.  However, I put some spam in there, and they eat it, at least until it gets too dry.

 

Can mealworms, crickets and fruit flies be self-sustaning?  Crickets and fruit flies I think the answer is yes, just need to figure out what to feed them.  I've read mealworms will turn into beetles if you don't use them pretty quick - will those beetles then mate and drop more mealworms?  I suppose I could just cut the beetles in two and feed those to the ants.  

 

Thanks!

[ultraex2]

Crickets and mealworms for sure - you can keep mealworms alive in the fridge for months and they'll still be alive.  Fruit flies technically you can, but from what I understand it can be easy for fruit fly cultures to crash and they generally last around 5ish weeks.  You'd probably want to order a new one every month and a half or so, but each culture should be able to sustain several generations.

[Saltynuts]

Thanks ultraex2.  Had no idea you can keep mealworms alive in the fridge.  Do they just go into a sort of hibernation?  Do you still need to feed them?  Thanks!

[123LordOfAnts123]

Mealworms and fruit flies can be easily cultured in mass - the former especially - with little more that a few items from the grocery store.

Adult ants can not, for the most part, eat solid foods. In Solenopsis invicta, that job falls upon the last instar of larvae, which acts as a sort of digestive system for the colony as a whole. Once present in substantial numbers, this species will eat anything from dry solids to, well... everything else. Until then incipient colonies will prefer to feed on the hemolymph of invertebrates.

Edited by 123LordOfAnts123, June 15 2017 - 9:53 AM.

[ultraex2]

Thanks ultraex2.  Had no idea you can keep mealworms alive in the fridge.  Do they just go into a sort of hibernation?  Do you still need to feed them?  Thanks!

Pretty much - I think what it does is slow their metabolism to almost nothing and then when they're heated up they become active again.  I've kept mealworms in the fridge for months with no issues with nothing other than the wood chip? substrate that comes standard in the little mealworm containers.

[Saltynuts]

Got it guys!  Thanks so much.  Time to order some meal worms, and stop by Best Buy on the way home to get a small refrigerator as the wife would never let me keep them in the fridge with people food.     Already ordered some fruit flys, will probably order some crickets too.  Thanks!