What Do Ants Eat?

What do ants eat? It is one of the first questions people ask when they start keeping ants. The short answer: almost anything. Ants need two things, sugar for energy and protein to grow. Some species also eat seeds or even grow their own fungus. In this post you will read what ants eat in nature and what you can best give your own colony.

Sugar: fuel for the colony

Sugar is to ants what petrol is to a car. Workers walk around all day and need a lot of energy for that. In nature and at home, ants get their sugar from several sources.

• Honeydew from aphids: many ants keep aphids like livestock. The aphids drink plant sap and give off a sweet droplet, the honeydew. In return the ants protect them from enemies.

• Flower nectar: ants also like to drink nectar. It is sweet and full of nutrients.

• Fruit: in nature, ants eat from fallen berries and ripe fruit.

• Sugar cubes: handy in your outworld. Put a few drops of water on them so your ants can lick up the sugar.

• Sugar water: the most used sugar source for ants kept at home. Quick to make and easy to take up. You can make it yourself or buy ready-made vanilla flavoured sugar water.

Want to know more? Read our post on sugar water for ants.

Protein: needed to grow

Protein is just as important as sugar. Without protein the larvae do not grow well and the queen lays fewer eggs. The workers themselves mainly eat sugar, but most of the protein goes to the brood. The easiest protein source is feeder insects, because they are closest to what ants eat in nature. Which one you choose depends on the size of your colony.

Fruit flies

Fruit flies are ideal for small colonies and for queens that need feeding while founding. They are small, soft and full of protein. Your ants can eat them completely and feed them to the larvae, with no hard shell left over. Flightless fruit flies cannot fly away either, so you can simply put them alive in the outworld. Want to breed them yourself? Read our guide to breeding fruit flies.

Buffalo worms

Buffalo worms look like mealworms but are smaller. They are a good next step when your colony gets too big for fruit flies alone. They give a good portion of protein without being too much for a small colony. Like mealworms they do have a hard shell, so cut them into pieces to make it easier for your ants. Remove leftovers in time so nothing goes mouldy.

Mealworms

As your colony grows, mealworms are a good choice. Here too: cut them into pieces, because the hard shell is difficult for your ants. Besides protein, mealworms also contain a lot of fat. So do not give them as the only food, but alternate with other insects. That way your colony gets everything it needs.

Crickets

For colonies that are a bit bigger, crickets are a solid meal. Small crickets suit smaller colonies, large crickets suit large colonies. Some ant species handle a whole cricket themselves, for others it is better to cut it into pieces first. Just watch how your own ants deal with it and adjust.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are mainly for large colonies. There are many species and sizes, from small dubia nymphs to large Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Dubia and red runners are popular, and both contain a lot of protein. Only give cockroaches if your colony can really finish them, otherwise too much is left that will go mouldy.

Alternate the different feeder insects and your colony gets the best nutrition. You will find more tips in our post on feeding your ants protein.

Seeds: the menu of harvester ants

Most ants eat sugar and insects, but some species mainly eat seeds. These are the harvester ants, such as Messor barbarus. They collect seeds around them, drag them to the nest and store them in special chambers. When they are hungry, they crack the seeds open and eat the inside.

For ant keepers that is handy. Harvester ants are easy to feed because they build their own stock. That is why they are popular with beginners. They will also happily eat an insect now and then as an extra. Read more about these ants in our Messor barbarus care guide.

Fungus: the garden of leafcutter ants

Leafcutter ants do not eat leaves, even though they carry them around all day. They cut off pieces of leaf and take them to the nest. There they use the leaves to feed a fungus they grow themselves, and that fungus is what they eat. The ants and the fungus cannot live without each other, and it has been that way for millions of years.

Keeping leafcutters is a beautiful but difficult challenge. You need enough fresh leaves and the right conditions to keep the fungus garden healthy. If you manage that, you can watch up close how these ants grow their own food.

What do you feed your own ants?

For most ants you keep at home, it is simple: give sugar and protein. Put sugar water or a sugar cube in the outworld and add insects that suit the size of your colony. Remove leftovers in time so nothing goes mouldy. If you keep harvester ants, give mainly seeds with an insect now and then. That way your colony stays healthy and you can watch it grow.

Keeping ants in the United States?

Esthetic Ants USA has a complete feeding guide for US ant keepers, and its ant food ships from within the US. Keeping leafcutters in the US? Read what to feed leafcutter ants.