 |
|
 |
Your One Stop Antformation Station
Feeding Your Ants
|
Click here for LIVE ANTS! for your ant farm |
Ants are a remarkably diverse group when it comes to feeding. Here are a few tips on how to keep your ants happily fed. This doesn't apply if you are using one of the new gel type ant farms, such as the Antworks Space Age Ant Farm. However, if you are using a traditional type such as the Giant Ant Farm then these tips should be helpful.
|
Ant farms tick all the boxes
when it comes to kids! They can learn from them (and there's a lot they
can learn), it keeps them interested and they can gain a sense of
responsibility by looking after their little pets
too!
| ||||||
|
You'll never be stuck for something to watch when you've got one of these in your home! |
GIANT Ant farm with Mail-In Certificate for Ants - $23.95 Much more interesting than the TV and the screen size is nearly as big too! HUGE 15" x 10" viewing area makes it easy to watch your new pets as they tunnel away. |
Some ant species live on plant food, seeds for example. They also eat flower pollen, which has a high protein content. You may know that leafcutter ants cut off small pieces of leaf from a bush and carry them back to the nest. The leaves are not for eating. They are used as fertiliser for a fungus that they grow on the decaying leaf matter. This is one of the very few examples of actual farming for food in the animal kingdom. But it is as predators that ants really come into their own and the activities of soldier ants are legendary! | ||||||
|
This type of Ant Farm was devised by NASA scientists when they wanted to understand how ants responded to weightlessness in space! |
THE VERY LATEST IN ANT FARM TECHNOLOGY! CHRISTMAS SPECIAL Lighted Blue Gel Ant Farm with Mail-In Certificate for Ants - $29.95 You can see from the picture how the ants carve themselves an intricate network of tunnels that imitates those found inside a real ants nest. The gel contains nutrients and water, so you don't even need to feed them! This has to be the ultimate in maintenance-free pet keeping! |
LIVE ANTS
TOO!
| ||||||
Other creatures too! There's a whole world of interesting animals for your kids to explore! Just click on the cirlcles!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ants love
sugar!
If you
have ever dropped a slice of orange on a path when ants are about and left it
undisturbed for a while, you will have noticed that after an hour or two there
will be a collection of worker ants around it, all drinking the sweet sugary
juice. Ants love sugar, it provides the energy they need in a concentrated form.
Left undisturbed, they'll eventually take the entire contents of this orange
back to the nest. But sugar in this form is not always available in nature.
There are thousands of species of ants and they each have their own particular
feeding preference.
Some highly aggressive carnivorous ant species
have the ability to overcome virtually any animal providing they are present in
sufficient numbers. They will often immobilise the animal by attacking the eyes
and mouthparts and then, when it can no longer defend itself, begin to consume
the prey, often from the inside, so they do not need to bite through the tough
skin. Insect larvae and caterpillars are common food items because their soft
skins make them easy to attack.
Other ant
species are vegetarians. The type of ant normally supplied for the ant farms we
recommend are Harvester ants, and, as their name suggests, they eat grain and
seeds in the wild. In your ant farm, they will eat seeds too but you may not
always have them available. Some suppliers will send you a food parcel,
containing seeds of the right size for the ants to handle. Alternatively
you can try a few crumbs of biscuit. In fact, because biscuit usually contains
sugar and fat, they will survive very well on it.
Your ants will
need water though, and a few drops on a pea-sized piece of sponge is the easiest
way to supply it. You could also try a solution of honey or syrup in water, but
dont make it too sticky or unwary ants could become trapped. With both food and
water, its important not to supply too much. Decaying food is the last thing you
want in a closed environment like an ant farm.
Having said that,
ants are remarkably clean animals and they will keep their tunnels and chambers
clean by removing waste to a disposal area. This in itself is fascinating to
watch.
|
ENJOY YOUR ANTS - THEY NEED YOU!!
|
Copyright 2010 Ant Farm Central
best ant farms | gel ant farms | live ants | ant farm moisture | ant farm food & water | ant life cycle | other insects | other pets | pet guides
All
material provided on this web site is intended solely for informational or
educational purposes.
'ANT FARM' is a registered mark of Uncle Milton
Industries, Inc., creator of the original ANT FARM ant habitat