8 replies to this topic

[Miel]

Good afternoon
I'm experiencing ants refusing food for the umpteenth time now... In this case, it's a Polyrhachis dives colony that refuses to accept any protein at all.

I've had this happen before. I once had a Lasius fuliginosus colony that starved itself and ended up without any brood after refusing various insect feeders for months. I also once had a Tetramorium bicarinatum colony that grew incredibly quickly, but they too eventually died after suddenly refusing any protein source.

I'm fed up with this. Has anyone else experienced this and know what could be causing it?

Thanks in advance!

Edited by Miel, November 29 2025 - 6:53 AM.

[An-Ant]

Do the ants have larvae? If they don't, the ants have no need for protein and will not accept it. You could also consider the temperature the ants are at. If they are to cold, food may be refused.

If none of this works, you could switch up the food you feed them. Overall, freshly-killed insects are preferred over frozen or dried ones. 

[Miel]

Thanks for your reaction! The ants do have some larvea. They are placed on a heat mat. I give them freshly killed crickets and morio worms.

[RushmoreAnts]

Try giving them a more diverse diet. Morio worms aren't the best protein source, and crickets work but are mediocre. Cockroaches and fruit flies are the best sources of protein. Also, it can't hurt to ask, are you feeding them sugars/carbohydrates on a regular basis? Adult workers don't need protein, only sugar. If they are only refusing protein, the colonies shouldn't die if they are still accepting carbs. Ideally, they should have access to carbs at all times via a liquid feeder.

 

If this doesn't work, they may be suffering from a disease of some sort. Refusing food can be a symptom of an infection. This is a likely scenario considering it is not an isolated incident. The disease could be jumping from colony to colony. To be safe, you should isolate your living colonies and sterilize your equipment and the dead colonies' setups to try and contain the infection.

Edited by RushmoreAnts, November 29 2025 - 10:04 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Also make sure temperatures are high enough.

[Miel]

They always have sugar available in the form of sugar cubes, which they regularly eat.

Besides crickets, I've also fed fruit flies a few times, but they weren't accepted this past week either...

 

I've indeed had more of these kinds of cases. However, they haven't happened recently in a row. My Lasius fuliginosus colony died at the end of last spring. The Tetramorium bicarinatum colony died about a year ago.

 

The heat mat is quite high, where they all sit (they can also move to a cooler spot if they want to).

 

 

In the other cases, too, the colonies usually accepted sugars. Only proteins were not accepted...

 

I hope my weaver ants aren't sick, as they're one of my favorite ant species...

Edited by Miel, November 29 2025 - 11:05 AM.

[ANTdrew]

I would provide liquid sugars. Not all ants can eat dry sugar cubes, despite what the cartoons show.

[Miel]

Yes that is true, but Polyrhachis can. 

[Miel]

I have already fed them 4 different protein sources, but they didn't take one of them... . (crickets, fruitflies, morioworms and ham)

 

The strange thing is that it's actually two colonies: this one had two queens. I split this colony into two because there are a lot of males around, and one queen is therefore unfertilized. Both colonies have been separated for about a month and a half now. Neither colony accepts proteins (they do accept sugars).