answersLogoWhite

0

What seeds do harvester ants eat?

Updated: 4/28/2022
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

Best Answer

It depends on the kind of harvester ant and what kinds of seeds there are where they live. Some eat various kinds of grain, that is to say the seeds of grasses. The grains we grow for harvest come from grasses that grow especially big seeds, but harvester ants generally go for wild grass seeds of a moderate size. This is not to say that they will not also gather the seeds of commercial grains.

Some kinds of seeds get eaten by the ants, others grow a lumpy part called an elaiosome that is suitable for the ants to eat. The real seed of such plants either is not good to eat, or has a very hard shell. Once the ants have eaten the elaiosome off the seed, they dump the real seed in the area where they collect their rubbish. There the seed can germinate and the rubbish acts as a fertiliser for the plant. When a plant relies on ants to distribute its seeds, we speak of the process as myrmecochory.

Apart from the grains that the harvester ants eat (which is not myrmecochory, because the seeds themselves get eaten), we find myrmecochory in pod bearing plants like some kinds of Acacia, but also in some species of Agathosma and some species of Euphorbia

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What seeds do harvester ants eat?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What do Harvester ants eat?

Harvester Ants gather and eat seeds, especially the seed pods of the mesquite bush.Seeds


What do harvester ants do?

Harvester Ants gather and eat seeds, especially the seed pods of the mesquite bush.Seeds


What do harvesters do?

Harvester Ants gather and eat seeds, especially the seed pods of the mesquite bush.Seeds


What does horned lizards eat?

They eat mossly harvestor ants( red ants) but subsidize their diet with a few termites and a few other insects. Fire ants are bad, they don't eat fire ants but fire ants are killing the harvestor ants


What do horned toad frogs eat?

Harvester ants .


What do Horn Toads eat?

Most Horn Toads, also known as Horned Lizards, eat harvester ants and crickets. Some species of Horn Toads do not eat harvester ants, however. Those types generally eat smaller species of ants. They also eat termites, grasshoppers, and beetles.


Do Harvester ants prefer a carnivorous diet or a vegetarian diet?

The preferred diet of harvester ants are nuts and seeds, so they are vegetarians. These types of ants are considered the main food source for desert horned lizards.


Do harvester ants burrow?

Yes , Harvester ants do burrow to make out a nest .


How do horned toads obtain food?

They eat harvester ants, beetles, and grasshoppers.


What insects eat desert plants?

There are a number of insects that feed on plants but the most numerous are locusts (grasshoppers) and ants, such as harvester ants.


What do great horned toad lizards eat?

They eat harvester ants as their primary food source, but also eat termites, grasshoppers, and beetles.


Do carpenter ants and harvester ants look alike?

yes