ANTSTORE World of Ants

[odesssus]

my componotus herculeanus have just started to move after 5 months of nothing. i fed them red ant eggs from the garden and they took them all in to the nest what are they doing whith them all eating? keeping them ?.any idears.thanks

[baumarkthammer]

When you give them eggs from a different species they will eat it.
If it were eggs from a different Camponotus they would have raised them, but since red ants (i guess you mean Myrmica rubra) are from a whole different ant family they will have eaten them for sure or fed their brood with them what not always is the same thing.

[odesssus]

iv'e been looking at them now they are bring the eggs out dumping them on the ground then takeing them back in the nest?maybe they have no room left in the nest?

[baumarkthammer]

No I don´t think so, sometimes ants do so because one worker thinks that might be usefull, than a worker that workes inside the nest finds it and it smells like a different species what causes them to throw it away. Often Formica fusca do so in Polyergus nests when the Polyergus workers carry in an egg of Formica rufa or other ants, they carry it out and in, out and in and endlessly so on.
Probably your ants will eat them after all maybe they carry out sand or something like that?
You know which species you tried to feed them?

[odesssus]

yes my ants have been takeing sand in and out like you say i think the eggs are myrmica rubra. this is the frist movement they have made in 5 months i have never fed them insects befor. there are only 14/15 ants in the colony do you think i could feed a cricket?. thank you

[baumarkthammer]

You should feed them much more insects and dead crickets.
Camponotus are called sugar ants and mostly would like to eat sugar but they need much insects to eat, too.
Half a mealworm every two or three days should be good for them and the colony should grow.

[odesssus]

thank you very much baumarkthammer.