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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2011 22:56:22 GMT 1
My pheidole have a sugary option, a cricket and fish flakes, which they love. But they aren't taking any into the nest or feeding outside. Should I be worried?
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Post by Deleted on May 23, 2011 23:21:05 GMT 1
I have about 60-70 Formica fusca and when they are hungry I see about 5-6 foraging and when food is on offer then there can be about 15-18 out feeding, then for 2 or 3 days I might hardly see an ant out of the nest why risk their life if they have no immediate needs? With my Formica fusca I can view them in ytong and see they are healthy and well fed by their activity and gaster, they really swell up when full, now I know Pheidole are much smaller and I don't know if you can view the nest, but learning to see how "full" your ants are is a great way to know when they need feeding along with foraging behaviour. Plus it depends on the size of the colony too. Basically, I would not worry unless it is very much out of the ordinary, as in not seeing an ant for a week or more (in colony with more than a dozen workers or so), or seeing more dead ants appearing more regularly than usual as they will generally remove dead nest mates straight away. A few details might help a more accurate answer: Colony size? last time they fed and how much? Temp? Is water on offer? Can you view the nest/Queen without disturbing too much?
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 0:08:41 GMT 1
Excellent post Shiver! Exalt+1 I do not have anything to add. Flavus
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 8:00:55 GMT 1
Around 50+ workers. I have a vary similar ytong nest to you, shiver.
Watered the ytong , they seemed pleased with that. The last time they ate a cricket wad last week.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 16:58:14 GMT 1
Ah right, so you can see them and they look active enough? Tending the brood etc? If so that's good
I wouldn't worry too much yet, I guess they don't have a lot of brood and therefore can easily store enough in their crop for a while.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 17:01:52 GMT 1
Yeah, as far as I can see it is just eggs.
There is one soldiers having a chew on the crickets leg now. ;-D
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 19:57:12 GMT 1
If they have only eggs they will not need protein with much urgency and well fed workers can last for weeks if not months without fresh food (not advisable to try though, you want a healthy, active colony afterall).
I am sure once the colony has some larvae to attend to they will pick up their feeding.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2011 20:09:27 GMT 1
months without fresh food (not advisable to try though, you want a healthy, active colony afterall). I've done that since last october with Lasius Flavus colony. They are booming!
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