Food - the natural procurement of foodAn incentive?
Generally
Adult workers (i.e. generally all individuals in a colony that are not in the larvial stage) mainly need carbohydrates in the form of nutrient solution, in nature for example via lice (aphids, scale insects, root lice). Only the larvial form of the ant - i.e. the larvae between the development stage L1 to L4 - needs nutrients in the form of protein. Neither the egg nor the pupa require any form of food. In case of doubt, a larvae of the genus Myrmecia also needs additional soil particles in order to be able to complete the pupation process. This allows us to say soberly what ants need in nature in order to grow - and on a personal note: ants existed before us humans and will probably outlive us. Every keeper has to ask themselves why so many ants die when kept at home.
Carbohydrates (natural occurrence)The carbohydrates usually come from plant juices, which are usually obtained indirectly via plant sap suckers (aphids, scale insects, root aphids) but can also be obtained directly from the plant. When the plant juices are ingested indirectly, the individuals collect the "faeces" of the plant suckers (the so-called honeydew). The faeces are a discharge product of the processor and provide advantages for them. The ants look after the lice like we humans look after cows in order to get milk. A similar, reciprocal relationship also takes place here between the ant and the aphid culture.For this purpose, the (aphid, scale insect, root) aphid cultures are milked, which means that the ants encourage their "cows" to provide the discharge product by stroking them with their antennae (the so-called "trilling").A photo of this will follow in early summer 2023.
Protein (in nature) They usually live on carrion and captured insects. Forest ants are particularly effective in fighting pests such as caterpillars, beetles and other insects that cause havoc in the forest. This is one of the reasons why forest ants are so important to our native flora and fauna and are indispensable. Carrion, on the other hand, is essential for smaller species such as the black garden ant. They rarely capture an insect - but they usually use what is found dead - or about to die. And that is also an important topic: Ants are the police of the forest - or the garden. They can rarely be classified as pests. These inconspicuous insects are often more useful to us humans than we suspect or know. However, they are kept in other food sources (protein). You can read about what these are here: - link -
