One day, I found a large black ant carrying an even larger green leaf across my kitchen floor. This got me wondering: how long can ants go without food?

Image: wipeoutpestcontrol.com.sg

Ants come in thousands of species, each living in different environments, so giving a definitive answer to how long they can survive without sustenance is not easy. However, several factors influence how long ants can persist without food.

Different Types of Ants Need Different Amounts of Food

Smaller ants, those only a millimeter long, have a higher metabolism than larger ants, like carpenter ants, which can be nearly 25 millimeters.

A higher metabolism means smaller ants need more frequent and plentiful food to power their little bodies. Smaller species might need to eat every day, while larger ants can survive on fewer, larger meals.

Ants Can Store Food

Ants live communally, and each individual has a very specific role in the survival of their colony. For ants responsible for collecting food, they will store food they’ve found or grab from other creatures in a dedicated section of their colony.

By storing food for later use, worker ants can ensure there’s always sustenance in case foraging expeditions are less productive, and winter climates keep them from hunting effectively.

Young Ants Need More Food

Like all living creatures, young ants need more food than their adult counterparts to fuel their growth and development. Immobile larvae rely on worker ants to feed them directly by regurgitating food the workers have recently gathered.

As ants mature through pupal and adult stages, they will be able to survive for longer amounts of time without food. So long as ants have access to water, they’re likely to stave off starvation.

Image: ant-keeper.com

Worker Ants Foster Queen Ants

Queen ants do not hunt for food themselves. Instead, worker ants locate and carry their queen’s desired food to her and feed her in the same manner they feed young ants directly.

Queen ants, if adequately fed by workers, can live for decades. This is because worker ants understand the queen’s biological imperative to produce more ants and will do everything to keep her alive during lean situations.

How Long Can an Ant Live Without Food?

Given their ability to store food, establish complex feeding hierarchies, and adapt to limited resources, the time an ant can survive without food can range vastly. While young or small species might survive for only a week without eating, queens and larger worker ants may survive for several months.

Ultimately, without food, ants will eventually starve as even the most efficient food-storing colony will run out of sustenance eventually.

Tips to Keep Ants Away

The best way to ensure no ants starve themselves to death around your home is to eliminate food sources that attract them in the first place.

To do this, you can seal any cracks or gaps in outside walls and doors where they might enter. You can also clean up food crumbs and residue in your kitchen regularly and make sure crumbs haven’t collected in areas under your refrigerator or stove. Compacting ants’ sources of food limits the need for them to search for resources, which decreases the chance of tracing your food sources and giving themselves reliable access.

FAQ

Q: Can ants survive without their queen?

A: Yes, ants can live independently of their queen though they will eventually stop reproducing without the queen to facilitate laying new eggs.

Q: What’s a natural pest control ingredient I can use against ants?

A: Create a paste of 1 part borax powder, 1 part sugar, and 1 part water and set it in areas of frequent ant traffic, as the ants will mistake it for food and transport it back to their colony.

Q: Do maggots or carpenter ants do more damage to wood?

A: Despite carpenter ants having “carpenter” in their name, wood-eating maggots poise a greater risk of structural damage to your home. However, carpenter ants can do significant and costly damage to a wood structure if left unchecked.

How Long Can An Ant Live Without Food

Conclusion

Ants are fascinated and complex creatures with impressive capabilities to adapt to limited resources. Some survive only a week without food, while others can persevere for months. Should you spot an ant, consider these factors when determining just how concerned to be!

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