What do ants eat?

Have you ever wondered what ants (both those kept in artificial nests and in the wild) eat? Let’s face it – not many people think about the diet of insects, especially such small ones. However, people who plan to or already keep home ant farms should ask themselves this question at the very beginning of their adventure with these insects. And where to look for the answer? On our blog, of course!

What do breeding ants feed on?

Running a home ant farm is a unique hobby and a mass of fun, but it is also a responsibility for the proper care of the colony, including providing adequate food for the insects kept in artificial conditions.

Looked at purely theoretically, an ant will eat anything. Only, do you want to harm your breeding by feeding the insects poor quality food inadequate to their needs? Your colony can grow to a magnificent size if you provide it with the right conditions and access to the nutrients the ants need. And what they need are sugars (i.e. carbohydrates) and protein. Below you will find examples of the best foods containing these ingredients.

Ants love honey

The best type of carbohydrate for ants, is honey. It is a delicacy that provides them with a big boost of energy for their daily hard work. Of great importance, as with humans, are the health-promoting properties of honey – feeding it regularly, also in the form of bee pollen, will ensure a high level of immunity for the insects in the formicarium. You can diversify the diet of your charges by giving different varieties of the product (acacia honey, honeydew honey and so on).

Honey can be fed on its own, although we recommend mixing it with water (ants need to drink – so in this form you will provide them with both food and hydration). Interestingly, however, some species do not like honey – we do not recommend feeding it to Messor barbarus ants, for example. Also remember not to replace honey with sugar, which has no nutritional value.

You can also use the ready-made nectars for ants available in our shop, made from natural ingredients, including honey.

A source of protein in the ant’s diet – i.e. food insects

Let’s now move on to the second essential ingredient in the diet of your home ant farm, namely protein. A great source of this is food insects, which, incidentally, are also fed to other animals – for example, reptiles kept in terraria. The most common species of such insects include cockroaches, whiteflies and woodlice (beetle larvae), crickets or even fruit flies. And all of them are suitable for feeding to breeding ants. Importantly, we recommend feeding them dead – the introduction of a live individual could harm the colony somewhat, if only through undue stress (on both the feeder insect and the ants) and the much longer time required to ‘dissect’ the prey. On top of this, there is the risk that the insect, given alive, could lead to mechanical damage to the nest, which further forces the breeding ants to work hard at repairs.

However, insects do not have to be the only source of protein in home-reared ants. These can also cope perfectly with raw meat or even a dead mouse (here we must mention the Carebara diversa ants, which, in the case of a mature colony, will easily deal with such small vertebrates!).

The yolk of an egg, which, contrary to its name, contains plenty of well-absorbable protein, can also be a variety for ants.

Vegetarian ‘treats’ for ants – seeds and fruits

Some species of ants (harvester ants), as the name may already suggest, prefer a more plant-based diet. This is because they specialise in collecting seeds, which are then gathered in the nest and made into ‘ant bread’, which later becomes the main food for the entire anthill.

Ants can also be fed fruit. They are an excellent source of nutritious carbohydrates and can add variety to your colony’s diet.

Feeding a home ant farm – important tips

The dietary plan for ants reared at home is, as you can see, not particularly complicated. And neither is the feeding itself. The portion size depends on the size of the nest itself. A small colony will be satisfied by a drop of water with honey and lightly crushed mealworm or cricket legs. The larger the breeding, the size of the meals should be increased. Remember that the diet of ants will depend not only on the species but also on individual characteristics. You may end up with extremely ‘voracious’ insects, which, as a result, will rapidly expand the resource, or more modest ants, for which smaller amounts of food will suffice.

The best advice? Keep a close eye on your formicarium and check what the insects like, feed them a variety of protein variants and regularly dispose of leftover food. You will prevent the development of mould, which is a huge threat to ants. If you notice that the insects are covering the sand with leftover food or honey water, reduce the portions – the present ones are probably too big for the ants.

How often should you feed the ants? In this matter, too, a lot will depend on your observation. A rule of thumb is to feed the ants more often, but in smaller portions (then the chance that they will eat everything ‘at once’ is greater). A standard rhythm of one to two meals per week can be introduced.

How do you feed ants in a test tube?

For beginner breeders, the issue of feeding the ants in the tube, the ‘seed’ of the future colony, often seems problematic.

At the very beginning, when the number of ants that have arrived at your home is still too small to populate the formicarium properly, you must keep them in a small but safe tube – and feed them there too. The portions of food must be very small, and it is also important to take care of the quality of the food – now it is the protein that counts, so that the queen will start laying eggs and begin the full life cycle of the ants. Put the food inside using a narrow strip of aluminium foil or a drinking straw cut lengthwise.

Two chambers must also be prepared in the tube. The first, for water, separated by cotton wool, will allow the ants to rehydrate, while in the second (closer to the opening of the tube), they will temporarily feed. It is into this chamber that the food portions should be placed.

Where to get food for ants at home?

When deciding to keep ants at home, make sure what a particular species feeds on (you will find basic information next to each insect description in our shop). You can buy many products both online and, simply, in pet shops (we are mainly talking about dried food insects).

You can also boldly serve food from your own home. Honey (natural, not artificial) or raw meat can be found in most fridges after all. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a good quality, safe seed mixture for Messor barbarus, use our recipe and order food from AntSon!

What do ants eat in the wild?

‘Wild’ ants are natural environmental cleaners. Operating in really large colonies, they have to take care to deliver huge amounts of food to the nest, hence most of what they encounter on their way can become their next meal.

So, what do woodland or garden ants eat? The insects will readily reach for available fruit, but they will not disdain pollen either. Do ants eat leaves? Some species, although this is not necessarily the rule either, may feed on such food.

And what is it like for ants to eat protein in their natural habitat? Do ants eat aphids? Or ticks? As for the former, it is worth noting a relationship – ants are natural defenders of aphids (protecting them from ladybirds and other enemies) because they feed on their secretions (honeydew). In nature, they will therefore, to some extent, nurture aphids to provide them with sweet food.

How, on the other hand, are the ticks? This is where the ants deserve a big round of applause. For they are gourmets when it comes to these parasites. What’s more, ticks are so afraid of even the mere smell of formic acid that they run as far away from the anthill as possible.

Summary

Ants in home rearing need to receive regular portions of protein and carbohydrates. They should therefore be given food insects, honey with water, but also, in some cases, seeds, which form the basis of the harvester ants’ diet.

In addition, it is necessary to keep the formicarium clean and to feed regularly. If you still have any questions, please write to us boldly, we will be happy to help!