3 replies to this topic

[FelixTheAnter]

I was going through my compost bin the other day when I found a bunch of small grubs and a few small moths. I believe they are the white-shouldered house moth (Endrosis sarcitrella). If they can reproduce in a compost bin, I'm assuming they could be cultured as feeders? My ants went crazy over the few grubs that I dropped in. Has anyone cultured small moths before?

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[ISpeakForTheTrees]

I don't have any experience with it personally, but I know people culture silkworms (another moth species) for use as feeders on occasion. For silkworms at least, they're low in fat and high in calcium & protein, so I'd imagine they'd be decent feeders for ants. Not sure how your moth would compare nutritionally, but you probably could culture them if you wanted to try.

[ANTdrew]

Seems like it would work. Just don’t let them out in your house. If it were me, I’d just pick them out of the compost as needed.

[FelixTheAnter]

I don't have any experience with it personally, but I know people culture silkworms (another moth species) for use as feeders on occasion. For silkworms at least, they're low in fat and high in calcium & protein, so I'd imagine they'd be decent feeders for ants. Not sure how your moth would compare nutritionally, but you probably could culture them if you wanted to try.

I actually do have silkworms, but they're pretty high maintenance because they require fresh food at least once a day, plus regular cleaning of their enclosure. The thing that is appealing about house moths is that it seems like they could be bred in a jar similar to how fruit flies are.

I ended up finding about 20 - 30 larvae, plus a couple adult moths. I put some oatmeal, lentils, a few peanuts, and some mixed bird seed into a large mason jar. Plus a bit of decomposing newspaper they'd been hiding in, inside the compost bin. Covered the top tightly with a paper towel and secured it with elastic. We'll see what happens!

Seems like it would work. Just don’t let them out in your house. If it were me, I’d just pick them out of the compost as needed.

I thought about doing that, but unfortunately there's just not enough in there. They're also competing with mealworms (thanks to a few escaped beetles) and red wriggler worms. We'll see what comes of my jar!

Still very interested to hear if anyone has raised them (purposely, haha)

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