8 replies to this topic

[AntsTopia]

Hi everyone! I recently fed my messor colony about 20 termites, but instead of eating it, they took it to their nest and then quickly returned and threw it in their garbage. I have never seen a colony in my 4ish ant-keeping years turn down perfectly good termites. It's odd and disturbing. Thoughts would be appreciated.

[Artisan_Ants]

It really depends on the species or when you fed them. If it’s a small colony then it’s probably just due to the fact that they are full (and ants are usually very picky when it comes to a full stomach). But if it is a large colony (which I believe it is based on your description of how many termites you are feeding them, and that fact that they have a nest) let’s say you fed the colony a large meal a week or couple days before, then that also comes down to the same conclusion, which is the fact that they are full. Otherwise, it could be the species. Some species have certain preferences (which can obviously change due to the amount of brood in the nest, or the population of their colony). My C. chromaiodes colony absolutely hated crickets (annoyingly) but probably due to the fact that it was too much for them at that time or that they were full which made complete sense (they had about five to ten workers at that time). Instead, they would accept mealworms probably due to the proportions of protein it had offered to their brood and to the the workers in their colony. But now on the other hand, they are larger and still won’t eat it, which is probably due to the fact that they were full (and I fed them about 5 days ago, so in that time they most definitely would have been full) and the amount of brood in the nest Would is the same since then is about the same; but there are more pupae than larvae meaning less feeding, or less protein. So the brood and population of a colony can affect a colony’s choices which is what must be happening here for your colony. Otherwise; I don’t really see why this would happen since you mentioned that these were clean termites. The name of the species would be very helpful here. Otherwise, this is very strange indeed…

Edited by Artisan_Ants, March 26 2024 - 6:29 AM.

[AntsTopia]

It really depends on the species or when you fed them. If it’s a small colony then it’s probably just due to the fact that they are full (and ants are usually very picky when it comes to a full stomach). But if it is a large colony (which I believe it is based on your description of how many termites you are feeding them, and that fact that they have a nest) let’s say you fed the colony a large meal a week or couple days before, then that also comes down to the same conclusion, which is the fact that they are full. Otherwise, it could be the species. Some species have certain preferences (which can obviously change due to the amount of brood in the nest, or the population of their colony). My C. chromaiodes colony absolutely hated crickets (annoyingly) but probably due to the fact that it was too much for them at that time or that they were full which made complete sense (they had about five to ten workers at that time). Instead, they would accept mealworms probably due to the proportions of protein it had offered to their brood and to the the workers in their colony. But now on the other hand, they are larger and still won’t eat it, which is probably due to the fact that they were full (and I fed them about 5 days ago, so in that time they most definitely would have been full) and the amount of brood in the nest Would is the same since then is about the same; but there are more pupae than larvae meaning less feeding, or less protein. So the brood and population of a colony can affect a colony’s choices which is what must be happening here for your colony. Otherwise; I don’t really see why this would happen since you mentioned that these were clean termites. The name of the species would be very helpful here. Otherwise, this is very strange indeed…

Yes, they are a large colony with 400-500 workers and soldiers. Their species is Messor Babrabrus. Its weird as their last meal was two days before the incident so a large colony like that couldn't have been full. I did a in-person trade with an ant keeper in New York for this colony about 5 weeks ago. 

Edited by AntsTopia, March 27 2024 - 3:55 PM.

[Artisan_Ants]

It really depends on the species or when you fed them. If it’s a small colony then it’s probably just due to the fact that they are full (and ants are usually very picky when it comes to a full stomach). But if it is a large colony (which I believe it is based on your description of how many termites you are feeding them, and that fact that they have a nest) let’s say you fed the colony a large meal a week or couple days before, then that also comes down to the same conclusion, which is the fact that they are full. Otherwise, it could be the species. Some species have certain preferences (which can obviously change due to the amount of brood in the nest, or the population of their colony). My C. chromaiodes colony absolutely hated crickets (annoyingly) but probably due to the fact that it was too much for them at that time or that they were full which made complete sense (they had about five to ten workers at that time). Instead, they would accept mealworms probably due to the proportions of protein it had offered to their brood and to the the workers in their colony. But now on the other hand, they are larger and still won’t eat it, which is probably due to the fact that they were full (and I fed them about 5 days ago, so in that time they most definitely would have been full) and the amount of brood in the nest Would is the same since then is about the same; but there are more pupae than larvae meaning less feeding, or less protein. So the brood and population of a colony can affect a colony’s choices which is what must be happening here for your colony. Otherwise; I don’t really see why this would happen since you mentioned that these were clean termites. The name of the species would be very helpful here. Otherwise, this is very strange indeed…

Yes, they are a large colony with 400-500 workers and soldiers. Their species is Messor Babrabrus. Its weird as their last meal was two days before the incident so a large colony like that couldn't have been full. I did a in-person trade with an ant keeper in New York for this colony about 5 weeks ago.

Yeah honestly strange. How many seeds do feed them? I’m no expert on this species but they could be the reason for this odd action. And harvester ants in general need seeds for their larvae to develop properly so yeah. If it’s not be ants or larvae, then it is definitely something in their diet that is bothering them (like not enough seeds or food can cause stress at times but usually rarely). The diet of ants can affect their behaviors as well as choices (which is the reason they are so adaptable).

[Ernteameise]

My Messor do this too if I offer food they do not like.

They can be pretty fussy.

Last year, I offered them a variety of insects, but in the end, they only accepted the petstore crickets, and they take egg and chicken.

They also did not like fish food, but when I offered some Tetra fresh delica the other day, they accepted it, maybe they become less fussy?

My colony is now about the same size as yours.

And the feeding of seed is independent from that- Messor collect large seed stashes, so they should always have a lot of seed available.

Seed is the main diet, but of course they take protein, which I feed in summer every 2-3 days.

 

But yeah, I am very familiar with Messor barbarus dumping food they do not like (especially insects) unto the trash pile. I think that is normal.

You have to find a food they like.

[AntsTopia]

 

 

It really depends on the species or when you fed them. If it’s a small colony then it’s probably just due to the fact that they are full (and ants are usually very picky when it comes to a full stomach). But if it is a large colony (which I believe it is based on your description of how many termites you are feeding them, and that fact that they have a nest) let’s say you fed the colony a large meal a week or couple days before, then that also comes down to the same conclusion, which is the fact that they are full. Otherwise, it could be the species. Some species have certain preferences (which can obviously change due to the amount of brood in the nest, or the population of their colony). My C. chromaiodes colony absolutely hated crickets (annoyingly) but probably due to the fact that it was too much for them at that time or that they were full which made complete sense (they had about five to ten workers at that time). Instead, they would accept mealworms probably due to the proportions of protein it had offered to their brood and to the the workers in their colony. But now on the other hand, they are larger and still won’t eat it, which is probably due to the fact that they were full (and I fed them about 5 days ago, so in that time they most definitely would have been full) and the amount of brood in the nest Would is the same since then is about the same; but there are more pupae than larvae meaning less feeding, or less protein. So the brood and population of a colony can affect a colony’s choices which is what must be happening here for your colony. Otherwise; I don’t really see why this would happen since you mentioned that these were clean termites. The name of the species would be very helpful here. Otherwise, this is very strange indeed…

Yes, they are a large colony with 400-500 workers and soldiers. Their species is Messor Babrabrus. Its weird as their last meal was two days before the incident so a large colony like that couldn't have been full. I did a in-person trade with an ant keeper in New York for this colony about 5 weeks ago.

Yeah honestly strange. How many seeds do feed them? I’m no expert on this species but they could be the reason for this odd action. And harvester ants in general need seeds for their larvae to develop properly so yeah. If it’s not be ants or larvae, then it is definitely something in their diet that is bothering them (like not enough seeds or food can cause stress at times but usually rarely). The diet of ants can affect their behaviors as well as choices (which is the reason they are so adaptable).

 

I feed them quite a lot of seeds and a lot of different variety. That sounds right, I didn't know that they need seeds for proper larval growth - that's really cool. 

 

My Messor do this too if I offer food they do not like.

They can be pretty fussy.

Last year, I offered them a variety of insects, but in the end, they only accepted the petstore crickets, and they take egg and chicken.

They also did not like fish food, but when I offered some Tetra fresh delica the other day, they accepted it, maybe they become less fussy?

My colony is now about the same size as yours.

And the feeding of seed is independent from that- Messor collect large seed stashes, so they should always have a lot of seed available.

Seed is the main diet, but of course they take protein, which I feed in summer every 2-3 days.

 

But yeah, I am very familiar with Messor barbarus dumping food they do not like (especially insects) unto the trash pile. I think that is normal.

You have to find a food they like.

Well you're definitely right about the crickets; my colonies love them. This is my first time with any Messor species. That's cool that your colony is large!

[The_Gaming-gate]

There is a small possibility that if you squish the termites a small bit, and cover them in sugar, that the ants may eat it, but that probably wouldn’t happen. What is probably happening is that your Messor colony noticed they are getting a lot of the same nutrients from termites, and are looking for variety in nutrition.

[Ernteameise]

There is a small possibility that if you squish the termites a small bit, and cover them in sugar, that the ants may eat it, but that probably wouldn’t happen. What is probably happening is that your Messor colony noticed they are getting a lot of the same nutrients from termites, and are looking for variety in nutrition.

Nah, Messor are not into sugar at all. This will do nothing for them, they even actively avoid it.

I think the diet really needs to be varied and other protein items added.

[The_Gaming-gate]

There is a small possibility that if you squish the termites a small bit, and cover them in sugar, that the ants may eat it, but that probably wouldn’t happen. What is probably happening is that your Messor colony noticed they are getting a lot of the same nutrients from termites, and are looking for variety in nutrition.

Nah, Messor are not into sugar at all. This will do nothing for them, they even actively avoid it.
I think the diet really needs to be varied and other protein items added.

That’s what I thought. I can really only speak for Florida ants, who have a tendency to tolerate protein and eat protein like it’s Black Friday.