ANTSTORE World of Ants

[badman]

any success? only reservations I have are the artificial sweeteners they usually contain.

[JimmyVe]

Which protein do you mean, the Jelly you can buy at antstore ?
I tried it with a lot of species and most of them like it. Not all.

[badman]

no whey protein is the powdered form of protein which you add milk or water to as a dietary suppliment (usually for weight training)

[miszt]

Artificial Sweetners can have toxic effects on many animals from what I've read, I really wouldnt risk it myself, also Whey Protien may not contain the right Amino Acids for Ants, Insects are a much better bet imo

[badman]

yeah i know it's just I live in a block of flats and don't have much time to go round collecting any. And it's not worth buying any with the size of my colonies.

[JimmyVe]

What is not worth to buy ? Living insects have a lot of protein to. You can buy them in a small box en keep them in there for a few weeks ore kill them and put them in the freezer. Ore you could buy protein jelly, you can hold that in your fridge for a few months.

[badman]

last time I bought insects they all died quite quickly because I can't keep them indoors. Also I cant put them in the freezer. Flies with food? The mrs would go mad.

[miszt]

You need to buy a box of something your mrs absolutly hates, then get urself a box of crickets, freeze the crickets in a clip bag and hide it in the box of stuff she hates

[marc.tulley]

waxworms and meal worms will keep for months in the fridge i got lots off ebay for less than a fiver!

Theres a company on there that do a cheap pick n mix 3 for £4 or somthing you can choose from waxworms, mealworms (various sizes), crickets (various sizes), locusts (various sizes), fruit flys and some other flys.

[badman]

I could try that miszt, but I've yet to find anything she doesnt eat.

Also I am somewhat wormophobic. So probably crickets are the best option. Maybe I can convince her that crickets are clean insects.

[miszt]

Any insects you buy from pet shops, will be very sterile, they have to be, otherwise they wuldnt be able to breed them for food

[MilitANT]

waxworms and meal worms will keep for months in the fridge i got lots off ebay for less than a fiver!

Theres a company on there that do a cheap pick n mix 3 for £4 or somthing you can choose from waxworms, mealworms (various sizes), crickets (various sizes), locusts (various sizes), fruit flys and some other flys.

I would not recommend waxworms! They turn black and disgusting after they have been cut. They seem to just melt into a black mess once the ants start feeding.

[miszt]

Yes waxworms dont last very long if they are dead, not good for small colonies

My Pachycondyla love them, but they are bigger than waxworms, so not really a problem lol

they are not very nutrious tho, mostly fat, ants will also eat the Pupa stage and the moths, so dont worry about keeping them for ages and feeding them to the ants only occasionally

[badman]

Ok I got some preserved crickets in a can. These were the only dead ones I could find to buy online. It's basically a can with chopped up crickets inside which you can reseal. I gave one to each of my colonies and there's been 2 ligniperda biting away at it for an hour, and the herculaneus have just noticed theirs and are starting it now. Most interest I've seen either colony show in any food so far, there really is no subsitute for actual insect food.

[SteveUK28]

hey badman... I myself get live crickets, Locusts, Meal worms and recently also some waxworms.. I freeze them all.. i have my own seperate compartment in the freezer so no1 complanies.. Just take a few out every couple of days and let my ants munch then to death.. Ohh and every now n again i also give them a little protien jelly.. and the odd bit off fruit.. and sometimes even some cat/dog food.. actually ive even gave them steak lol.. with the lasius niger really like.