Small Feeders for Antlions?

[Myrmeleon]

Hi everyone, I currently am attempting to raise antlions from pits no more than a centimeter across to a couple inches. I have raised some larger specimens to adulthood, but run into a problem with younger ones. The lack of food during the winter. So I am looking for a feeder that would be 1. easy to breed/accommodate 2. Not so big that the smallest antlion is unable to feed, but not so small the largest one would waste energy capturing it, and 3. WILL NOT INFEST THE PANTRY! Any suggestions?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Hmm... not a lot of small things commonly used as feeders that won't potentially infest the pantry. You could hatch lateralis ooths. I'm not sure how good isopods are (I know they'll eat them at least) but that's another option.

Antlions don't need an awful lot of food. Small ones are probably less resistant to starvation, but you don't need a huge supply to keep them alive.

Something I've observed about pit size is that it doesn't have an awful lot to do with the size of the antlion. I've extracted bloated, full sized antlions from pits an inch across and dug skinny medium sized specimens from pits that looked nearly three inches. Pit size probably has a lot to do with how hungry the antlion is, so if you keep them really well fed it might seem like they're growing slowly because their pits stay relatively small.

 

[tarantulashack]

I bought a bunch of buffalo beetles off of amazon(amazing cleaners) there larvae especially when young are tiny and move an awful lot I’ve used them for tiny slings b4 would assume they would do great for ant lions. I can’t rem the exact scientific name for them ( micro mealworms they are also called)but they breed like crazy.

 

[Myrmeleon]

Would large springtails work? I feel like isopods would be too armoured for the antlions to pierce. Also I did a bunch of research on buffalo beetles and found that they are international pests on grain soooo.....

 

[Myrmeleon]

But thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Aquarimax]

But thanks for the suggestion!

I have used wingless fruit flies, they work fairly well, and are less likely to infest the pantry than some other insect species.

 

[Myrmeleon]

Is there a specific species of fruit fly that would be more useful for this purpose?

 

[Aquarimax]

Is there a specific species of fruit fly that would be more useful for this purpose?

I used wingless Drosophila melanogaster, which are the smallest commercially bred type of fruit fly. Probably your best bet for young ant lions.

 

[pannaking22]

Large springtails would probably be fine, as would wingless Drosophila. Bean beetles may work as well. I've seen them sold at a couple herp shows for sling and dart frog food, so they tend to stay small.