Ant Keeping Guide
Feeding
Learn how to effectively Feed your ant colony
Proper feeding is essential for maintaining a healthy and thriving ant colony, but dietary needs vary across species. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about providing the right nutrition for your ants, including the best protein and sugar sources and feeding tips for both ant queens and colonies.
Information
Why is proper nutrition important for ants?
Proper nutrition is crucial for maintaining a healthy, thriving ant colony. Ants, like all living creatures, rely on food to meet their energy and growth needs. Here’s why it matters:
-
Energy for Daily Activities:
Sugars and carbohydrates provide ants with the energy they need to forage, care for brood, and defend their colony. Without a steady supply of these nutrients, worker ants become lethargic and less effective in their tasks.
-
Growth and Development:
Protein is essential for the growth and development of larvae. Without adequate protein, the colony’s ability to produce healthy brood is compromised, leading to stagnation or decline.
-
Queen Health:
The queen is the lifeblood of the colony, responsible for laying eggs. Proper nutrition ensures she remains healthy and can continue producing offspring at an optimal rate.
-
Resilience and Survival:
A well-fed colony is more resilient to environmental stressors and better equipped to handle challenges such as competition, predation, or disease.
-
Preventing Cannibalism:
In the absence of adequate food, some ant species may resort to consuming their own brood to survive. Providing proper nutrition prevents this harmful behavior.
By understanding and meeting your colony's dietary needs, you can ensure they remain active, healthy, and productive.
Water​
Water should always be available to your ants, ideally provided using one of our quality byFormica liquid feeders or a similar feeder. These feeders make water safe and easy for ants to access, reducing the risk of accidents. Open water sources can pose a drowning hazard, as ants can be surprisingly clumsy around open liquids. By using liquid feeders, you ensure a steady, safe water supply for your colony while eliminating the risks associated with open water.
Water is very important for ants because it supports their digestion, hydration, and overall colony health. Ants rely on water to process and distribute nutrients effectively, especially when consuming sugars and proteins. It also plays a key role in feeding larvae, ensuring the food delivered by workers is in a form they can digest. Without adequate water, ants can become dehydrated, leading to stress, reduced activity, and potential harm to the colony. Providing clean, easily accessible water not only keeps your ants healthy but also allows them to thrive and maintain their natural behaviors.
​
-
What sort of water?
Water in any form is acceptable for ants. Many ant keepers use distilled or bottled water, which works perfectly fine. However, we personally use tap water and have not encountered any issues with it. Whatever source you choose, ensuring a constant supply of clean water is the most important factor.
Protein
Protein is essential for an ant's diet because it serves as the primary building block for growth and development within the colony. Worker ants collect protein-rich food and feed it to the larvae, which require it for proper development into healthy adult ants. Without adequate protein, the larvae cannot grow, and the colony's ability to produce new workers, soldiers, or queens is compromised.
Protein is also vital for maintaining the health of adult ants, especially species that rely on protein for muscle repair and sustaining their strength. Additionally, queens depend heavily on protein to produce eggs, making it critical for the colony's reproduction and survival.​
​
-
What sort of protein?
Protein can be provided to ants in various forms to ensure a healthy, thriving colony. At AntsDavey, we primarily feed our stock with gut-loaded mealworms, which are a nutritious and reliable option. If you choose live feeders, it’s important to pre-kill them for most species, as this is generally preferred. This is particularly important for younger colonies, which may lack the strength to take down prey and could suffer casualties during the process. Pre-killing also avoids the suffering of the live feeder. However, it’s worth noting that some ant species do prefer their food live, and in those cases, you can offer live feeders if necessary.
To safely prepare live feeders, dunk them in boiling water for 3–5 seconds. This sterilizes the feeder, kills it quickly to minimize suffering, and eliminates any parasites or mites that might be present. Afterward, cutting the feeder in half makes it easier for younger colonies to access the nutritious contents. We use our personal 2-way feeding dishes to place the protein on to limit mess.
​
-
Gut-loading your feeders
feeding them a nutrient-rich diet before offering them to your ants—is another important step. The fuller and healthier the feeder, the more nutritional value it provides to your colony. While mealworms are an excellent option, you can also use alternatives like dubia roaches, crickets, or fruit flies, tailoring the choice to your colony's preferences and needs. Experiment and find your colony's favorite to ensure they're getting the best nutrition possible.
​
-
Alternatives
​Of course, not everyone has access to live feeders or may prefer not to use them, and that's perfectly fine. There are plenty of alternative protein-rich options you can offer your ants. Sliced ham, chicken, egg, and other similar foods are great substitutes that provide the necessary nutrients. Protein gels are another option, though they are typically more appreciated by larger, more mature colonies. These alternatives can ensure your ants receive the protein they need without the need for live feeders.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are an essential part of an ant's diet because they provide a quick and efficient source of energy. Ants primarily use carbohydrates for fuel to power their daily activities, including foraging, nest maintenance, and brood care. Sweet liquids, such as nectar, honeydew, or fruit sugars, are commonly consumed by ants to meet their carbohydrate needs. These sugars are easily digestible and give ants the energy they need to carry out their tasks efficiently.
Foraging ants often seek out sugary substances, and providing carbohydrates ensures they have enough energy to stay active and healthy. In addition to energy, carbohydrates play a role in helping ants maintain strong, healthy colonies. It supports their overall metabolic processes and helps in the development of brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Without a sufficient carbohydrate intake, ants may become lethargic, weaker, and unable to support colony growth.
Many species of ants even farm aphids to help meet their carbohydrate needs. They protect and care for aphids in exchange for honeydew, a sugary substance excreted by the aphids. This symbiotic relationship benefits both the ants and the aphids, as ants provide protection from predators, while the aphids supply a steady source of carbohydrates for the colony.
​
-
What sort of carbohydrates?
For a carbohydrate source, we really recommend the byFormica Sunburst Ant Nectar that we sell. Sunburst Ant Nectar is the convenient, reliable sugar water alternative that ants love! Ant species that crave sweet foods will readily drink Sunburst Ant Nectar. Unlike homemade liquids that spoil quickly, each bottle of Sunburst Ant Nectar may be enjoyed for 3 to 6 months after opening. byFormica are very highly spoken of within the ant-keeping community. Their products are of the highest quality and have been used globally by countless keepers since 2014.​
​
-
Alternatives
Other vendors offer their own sugar sources, but you can easily create a homemade sugar solution for a cost-effective and convenient option. To make a simple sugar water mixture, mix 3 teaspoons of hot water with 1 teaspoon of sugar, stir until dissolved, and allow it to cool before offering it to your ants. For a honey water mix, simply substitute honey for the sugar. Store your homemade sugar solutions in our Needle Tip Bottles and refrigerate them for up to 4 days, depending on the ingredients used.
Harvester Ants
Harvester ants primarily rely on seeds as a main food source and have a particular fondness for them. These ants will often forage for various types of seeds, which provide them with essential nutrients. In their natural habitat, they collect seeds and store them in their nests, ensuring a steady food supply for their colony. Offering seeds to harvester ants in captivity replicates their natural diet, helping them thrive and stay healthy. We sell a Chia Seed mix and a Seed Mix on our store but incase you wanted to buy or mix your own
Here are some seeds they like: Sunflower Seeds, Grass Seeds, Thistle Seeds, Clovers, Dandelion Seeds, Foxtail Seeds, Wheat Seeds, Millet, Sesame Seeds
Where to buy live food?
We’re proud to endorse SilkWormStore as your go-to place for all your live feeder needs. At AntsDavey, we personally use SilkWormStore for our live feeders because of their excellent quality and competitive prices. Whether you're feeding ants, reptiles, or other pets, you can trust SilkWormStore for healthy, nutritious feeders that your colony will love.
Use Code: AntsDavey5 for 5% off your order over £10.
Ant Keeping Guides
For more Ant Keeping Guides, including detailed instructions on setting up test tubes, safely transitioning ants between test tubes, creating tub-and-tube setups, feeding your colony the right balance of protein and carbohydrates, and understanding proper heating techniques, click the button below. These guides are designed to help ant keepers of all experience levels provide the best care for their colonies while making the process as simple and stress-free as possible. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your skills, our resources have everything you need to ensure your ants thrive.
Personal Use Policy
AntsDavey kindly requests that this care guide be used solely for personal purposes and not for any commercial use. Thank you for respecting this request and supporting our work in providing quality resources for the ant-keeping community.
