Flying Ants?
- Thread starter joneill
- Start date
Jono
New Member
Yes, I would say perfectly safe if you are referring to those fat little critters that occasionally swarm after rain in Johannesburg. They are actually termites so they might be capable of squirting a defensive chemical but your Cham will figure out if this irritates them or not. Bats, birds etc eat them by the million so I can't see them being a problem.
I've even tried eating them myself before (the fried versions you get in some African markets up north). I was far too squeamish to decide if it was a pleasant experience, same vibe I got from trying dried Mopane worm (which come to think of it would be an excellent feeder for an adult Veiled.)
I've even tried eating them myself before (the fried versions you get in some African markets up north). I was far too squeamish to decide if it was a pleasant experience, same vibe I got from trying dried Mopane worm (which come to think of it would be an excellent feeder for an adult Veiled.)
daveo
Established Member
I have searched everywhere, but I know I saw a thread that had a study done of the stomach contents of a particular species of chameleons in the wild. They found that Flys bees and ants made up most of the diet. I am pretty sure that these won't hurt you cham....I wish I could find that thread. It was most informative!
casperpetersen
New Member
but you don´t know what kind of ants ..do you?
one of my freinds tried too feed a teenage calyptratus with some flying ants (from denmark)
and the day after it was going down hill pretty fast...he became dark would not eat or drink and in under a week he was dead ...
I don´t know if it was the flying ants that was the cause ... but I have not taken the chance too find out...and proberbly never will ... let me hear how it goes
.
do you know the name of the ants ?
one of my freinds tried too feed a teenage calyptratus with some flying ants (from denmark)
and the day after it was going down hill pretty fast...he became dark would not eat or drink and in under a week he was dead ...
I don´t know if it was the flying ants that was the cause ... but I have not taken the chance too find out...and proberbly never will ... let me hear how it goes
.do you know the name of the ants ?
Not helping with the ant question exactly...but talks about stomach content....
http://users.uoa.gr/~alegakis/index_en_files/PDFfiles/DimakiFeedEcol.pdf
http://users.uoa.gr/~alegakis/index_en_files/PDFfiles/DimakiFeedEcol.pdf
joneill
New Member
I have been doing some internet research and this is what I found.
These flying "ants" are actually flying termites known as termite swarmers or termite alates (meaning - having wings). They are the species known as Coptotermes formosanus or commonly Formosan Subterranean Termites. A termite swarmer cannot harm you as it is designed for propagation of the species, not to eat wood. The swarmer cannot bite or sting and they do not produce formic acid like ants. The worker termite (the one that resembles a small, white ant) is the one that has the strong, sharp jaws used for chewing wood.
Dispersal flights or "swarms" are massive and begin at dusk on calm and humid evenings from October to January. After swarming, landing, and shedding their wings, the adults pair off and move about in tandem, with the male following the female searching for a place to live. Fortunately, very few of these pairs survive to start new colonies. Most are soon eaten by geckos, spiders, chameleons, toads, ants, or other predators.
So, if these swarmers can't bite, sting or spray formic acid then they should be perfectly edible to a chameleon? My dogs eat them by the numbers and I know of people who have fried them and eaten them. Apparently they taste like butter so I assume that they have a high fat content and will not give too many to my cham.
These flying "ants" are actually flying termites known as termite swarmers or termite alates (meaning - having wings). They are the species known as Coptotermes formosanus or commonly Formosan Subterranean Termites. A termite swarmer cannot harm you as it is designed for propagation of the species, not to eat wood. The swarmer cannot bite or sting and they do not produce formic acid like ants. The worker termite (the one that resembles a small, white ant) is the one that has the strong, sharp jaws used for chewing wood.
Dispersal flights or "swarms" are massive and begin at dusk on calm and humid evenings from October to January. After swarming, landing, and shedding their wings, the adults pair off and move about in tandem, with the male following the female searching for a place to live. Fortunately, very few of these pairs survive to start new colonies. Most are soon eaten by geckos, spiders, chameleons, toads, ants, or other predators.
So, if these swarmers can't bite, sting or spray formic acid then they should be perfectly edible to a chameleon? My dogs eat them by the numbers and I know of people who have fried them and eaten them. Apparently they taste like butter so I assume that they have a high fat content and will not give too many to my cham.
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