L. niger - feeding the first workers

[keroumnome]

Hello Ant Hill

I have a small colony of L. niger (queen+10 workers) kept inside a jar. These workers appeared 3/4 days ago so I'm eager to feed them but every time I put food in the jar they don't seem very interested in it, and just stay near the queen and the eggs. I've tried to give them water with sugar, a small piece of apple and a fly with no results. Is this normal? I'm a bit worried because I'm new to this and don't know what to do in these first days :S

Thank you for your time

[bobdol]

If the workers were only born 3-4 days ago then it does seem strange they are not interested in the food as normally a young colony is quite hungry from my experience as the queen has not eaten properly for months.

They may still be scared of coming out and activley feeding


If I were you I would make sure you use really fresh insects as ants do not tend to eat the ones that have been sitting on the floor for ages

Also place the food quite close to the enterance hole so the ants really know its there as, it is important for a young colony to feed.

[TenebrousNova]

It is perfectly normal for first workers to be shy but they will want to feed themselves, the queen and larvae.
My own Lasius niger likes:

• Small flies
  
• Jam
  
• Honey
  
• Golden syrup
  
• Marshmallows
  
• Small spiders
  
• Bits of apple flesh
  
• Some more stuff that I can't remember right now.
  

Hope that helps, if you haven't tried them yet? Remember, remove any uneaten food within a few days, and I don't think you should overwhelm them with too much food either. Just tiny bits at a time.

Two of my Lasius niger queens got their first workers a few years ago, so I too will be trying to find food that they like.

[Wood~Ant]

Perhaps you could try a small drop of honey, as this is a natural product made by insects (bees) from nectar. Mix the honey with a drop of water and place it onto a wad of cotton wool, as I find most of my ants will then suck out the fluid, and it prevents them accidentally drowning or getting stuck as they might in just droplets of pure honey.

Try small dead spiders too, as sometimes they are are eaten by my own ants instead of flies.

[keroumnome]

Thank you all for your help . After a couple of days my ants started do become more active and finally started do feed from a dead insect (I don't know what it is) I put in the jar, I guess they have become more bold in their exploration of the jar