Kept ants need two things — a carbohydrate source (sugar water, honey water, or ant nectar) for worker energy, and a protein source (small insects) to feed the growing brood. Water should always be available too.

How often should I feed my ants?

Little and often. A small founding colony needs only a tiny sugar drop once or twice a week and one small insect a week; a large colony can take a steady sugar supply and several insects a week. Always remove uneaten food within a day or two.

Do I need to feed a founding queen?

A fully claustral queen needs no food at all until her first workers appear — she raises them on her own reserves. Semi-claustral queens (Myrmica, Formica) do better with small amounts of sugar and a tiny insect during founding.

Can ants eat human food?

Small amounts of sugar, honey, or cooked plain protein are fine, but avoid salty, oily, spiced, or heavily processed foods. Fresh feeder insects and a simple sugar solution are far better for the colony.

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CareNo. 10 · 6 min

What to Feed Ants (and How Often)

A practical feeding guide for pet ants — the two food groups a colony needs, a stage-by-stage schedule, and how to avoid mould and overfeeding.

Feeding ants is refreshingly simple once you understand that a colony needs two quite different things, and that with ants, less is almost always more. Overfeeding causes far more problems than underfeeding.

The two food groups

Carbohydrates (sugar) power the adult workers. Offer sugar water (roughly one part sugar to three parts water), honey water, or a specialist ant nectar, served on a small dish or bottle cap.
Protein (insects) feeds the growing brood — eggs, larvae, and pupae. Use small feeder insects such as fruit flies, crickets, mealworm pieces, or roaches. For a small colony, crush or pre-kill them.

Fresh water should always be available, whether from the test tube reservoir or a hydration setup in the nest.

A feeding schedule by colony stage

Colony stage	Carbohydrate (sugar)	Protein (insects)
Founding — claustral queen	None needed	None needed
First nanitics (a few workers)	Tiny drop, 1–2× a week	One small insect, ~1× a week
Growing (tens of workers)	Small dish, refresh 2–3× a week	2–3 small insects a week
Established (hundreds+)	Steady supply or feeder	Several insects a week, to demand

Let the colony guide you: if food is being ignored and starting to spoil, you’re offering too much; if workers swarm every offering and the brood pile is growing slowly, offer a little more protein.

Keeping food clean

Remove uneaten food within a day or two — rotting insects and spilled sugar invite mould and mites, two of the most common killers of small colonies.
Serve food in the outworld, not the nest, and on a dish that’s easy to lift out and clean.
Vary the protein when you can; a mixed diet is healthier than one insect type forever.

Don’t overfeed

More food does not mean a faster colony — it means fouling and pests. A well-fed colony regulates its own intake far better than you can guess it. This is one of the common beginner mistakes worth designing out from the start.

For everything a new setup needs alongside food, see the starter kit checklist, and for founding-stage feeding specifically, the queen care guide.

Common questions

What do ants eat?: Kept ants need two things — a carbohydrate source (sugar water, honey water, or ant nectar) for worker energy, and a protein source (small insects) to feed the growing brood. Water should always be available too.
How often should I feed my ants?: Little and often. A small founding colony needs only a tiny sugar drop once or twice a week and one small insect a week; a large colony can take a steady sugar supply and several insects a week. Always remove uneaten food within a day or two.
Do I need to feed a founding queen?: A fully claustral queen needs no food at all until her first workers appear — she raises them on her own reserves. Semi-claustral queens (Myrmica, Formica) do better with small amounts of sugar and a tiny insect during founding.
Can ants eat human food?: Small amounts of sugar, honey, or cooked plain protein are fine, but avoid salty, oily, spiced, or heavily processed foods. Fresh feeder insects and a simple sugar solution are far better for the colony.

Last updated 5 July 2026