5 replies to this topic

[NikolaBale]

I will try to make this short and simple:

1.Where do i catch/get springtails?

2.What are the benefits of earthworms in a ant nest?

 

Thank you !

[TKD102]

I don't know where to find springtails, but I'm thinking of buying some here: http://shop.bugsincy...ails-bic446.htm

 

For earthworms, I would think keeping a stable population of them, would only be possible in a natural setup, and their purpose is so that the ants can hunt them.

Edited by TKD102, July 6 2017 - 3:27 AM.

[CNewton]

Springtails are very easy to culture as they live in all the soil around you. Springtails are a pest for live worm cultures in aquaculture. Get yourself a cheap styrofoam cooler and add an inch or two of soil collected from a damp, fertile area. Organic matter = food. Add a small sprinkle of rolled oats to the top of the soil and keep it in a cool, dark place. Check it once a week, adding oats when needed. It should only take 2-3 weeks before you have a very healthy population of springtails. You will see them hopping off the oats or collecting along the sides of the styro (they will really stick out against the white). At this point, a small spoonfull of soil should be loaded with them, you can add it to your formicarium or outworld.

[sgheaton]

Found an earthworm getting .... to put it nicely..destroyed by a handful of Tetramoriums at work. Realized I could probably feed them to my colony. 

[Tyrael]

I would advise against feeding earthworms collected directly from your neighbourhood. Earthworms are exposed to a great deal of pesticides/herbicides/fungicides due to their lifestyle of tunnelling through soil. Many species of earthworms have a process to excrete the chemicals, but the process is slow and imperfect, and chemicals will now be in their medium again. The process requires the earthworm to devote considerable time and energy to process, thus it greatly delays their development and impairs reproductive ability. Compared to an ant, earthworms can live with relatively high toxin levels, and thus eating them may prove fatal to an ant. If you want to feed earthworms, I'd suggest you capture a bunch of them, let them breed with plenty of food, move the cocoons into a new container, discard both the parent worms and their container and then use the new culture as your breeding and feeding stock. However, consider that the earthworms may eject their gut contents while it's dying; potentially making a mess in your outworld. On the other hand, insects with soft exoskeletons or creatures with no exoskeleton leave minimal or no waste after eaten by your ants. 

Edited by Tyrael, July 6 2017 - 11:11 AM.

[Yuki]

To add to this, I have yet to try feeding them to ants but fish keepers like myself tend to culture smaller relatives of earthworms, such as whiteworms and grindal worms. There are plenty of sources online on keeping them, and it's a good time to pick up a starter culture online as I have found their availability to be seasonal.