Ask The Consult-Ant

Question
April 24, 2008
Do Ants Prefer Sugar or Tuna? Thank you.

Lauren

Dear Lauren,
That is a simple question but I'm afraid there isn't one simple answer. It depends somewhat on what kind of ant you have, and it also depends on what time of year it is and what life stages are present. However, before I go into details, do you really have to give them only one or another? Why not give them both?

Okay, so let's say you can only give them sugar or tuna. The general rule is that adult worker ants tend to use sugar-based foods, for two reasons. The first is that anything an adult ant eats must pass through a very narrow passageway, their "waist" is extremely thin. Adult ants can only eat liquids, so sweets like honey water or sugar water are easiest for them to eat. Also, the ants are not growing, so they need energy from sugars to move around more than proteins like tuna to build new muscles or to grow.

On the other hand the youngsters, the larvae, are growing and need a lot of protein like tuna. When there are a lot of larvae present, the workers tend to pick up "meat" like pieces of insects or tuna to feed them. The larvae are able to process those kinds of foods. Ant colonies tend to have a lot of new larvae in the spring and early summer in places with distinct seasons.

Different species or kinds of ants also vary in their preferences. A common name for one species is "grease ant" because they prefer oily foods. Some ants collect seeds, some eat a fungus. If you know what species your ants are, or can find out, then you can look up what they like to eat and get a better idea what to feed them. Let me know if I can help.

The Consult-Ant

Question
April 1, 2008
My friend recently purchased an ant farm and received the ants my mail.They started with about 20 ants but in just 2 weeks are down to 5. They have made a few tunnels but the nice white sand that came with the kit is now a much darker not so nice looking color. I'm keeping the ant farm for a while and she has given me some new sand thinking maybe the old sand is moldy and their environment is killing them. Do you think this is the case? She has been feeding and watering them daily. I'm a little worried that I may do more harm than good trying to change the sand in that I may hurt them trying to get them out. It is the Uncle Milton Ant Farm. Any advice?

Robin

Dear Robin,
It is wonderful your are taking such an interest in your friend's ant farm. I wish I had better news. I'm afraid what is happening is pretty standard for ant farms. You see, once the worker ants have been removed from their queen and fellow workers, they usually do not live very long. If you can see obvious mold, then changing the sand might help for a short time. Healthy colonies can usually keep mold at bay, but with only five ants, they probably are overwhelmed. If you can't really tell if it is mold or not, I would say leave them be. It could be the food has caused the discoloration.

Good luck,
The Consult-Ant

Question
March 24, 2008
I have recently captured a black carpenter ant queen an some of her eggs. She had only 5 workers with her when i found her but was unable to capture the workers. Is she going to be good this way? Will her eggs hatch and start working, and if so how long will it take?

Thank You,
Cory

Dear Cory
Congratulations on finding a queen. The queen should be fine without workers. As long as you feed the queen something like honey/water mixed together and soaked into a cotton ball, she should be able to rear more workers on her own. If she only had 5 workers with her, she was probably a new queen from this year.

As to whether her eggs will hatch, it will depend on the time of year and the temperature. Don't be disappointed if she eats some or all of the eggs in the winter. She should lay more in the spring.

You probably already know you can't add workers from other carpenter ant colonies, because they would fight with the queen. But if you can find cocoons (or pupae), the queen will accept those. When the workers emerge, they will treat the queen like their own.

Good luck,
The Consult-Ant