Workers may also feed the colony by laying unfertilized eggs to be fed to the queen and larvae. Harvester ants have chewing mouthparts to grind food items into ingestible pieces. I have also watched harvester ants carry bits of chicken feed distances over 100 feet across our yard to their nest. The seeds and insects are stored in the nest as food for the colony. They typically gather only one seed species until it is gone then shift to another species.
Harvester ants forage primarily for seeds but sometimes feed on insects. Other species use scent-marked “trunk routes” and disperse at a further distance from the nest. Some species leave the nest individually and disperse in all directions. Harvester ants exhibit two foraging patterns. At Hanford Nuclear Reservation (in Washington state), harvester ants were thought to have exhumed buried radioactive waste from a depth of 15 feet. The nests are commonly three feet deep and have one to three entrances. There may also be small bits of charcoal and fragments of dead vegetation. Mounds composed of fine gravel are often built in the center of the cleared nest area (depending on harvester ant species). Harvester ant workers keep the nest area devoid of vegetation to regulate underground temperature. Harvester ant queens are long-lived and continue laying eggs to build and maintain the colony. Workers produced begin caring for other developing ants, enlarge the nest, and forage for food. Larvae hatch from eggs, go through several stages (instars), and pupate before becoming adults. After finding a suitable nest site, the queen drops her wings, digs a burrow and produces a few eggs. In Arizona, winged male and female harvester ants swarm, mate and establish new nest areas in spring or summer, usually following a rainy period.
Some species of harvester ants have stingers with reverse barbs which pull out when used, much like honey bees. People having allergic reactions to insect stings should be especially careful. They can sting and will aggressively defend the nest if threatened. Harvester ant workers are usually between ¼ and ½ inch in length and colors range from orange, to red, brown, or black. There are 22 species of harvester ants found in the United States (several of these are found in Arizona). You should consider letting them be if they are in a quiet corner of your property. When harvester ants are found in your yard, it is up to you to decide whether or not they pose a risk. Horned lizards (horned toads) rely on harvester ants for food which compose up to 90% of their diets. Harvester ants disperse seed, increase permeability of soils, and feed other organisms. In open spaces p.away from people and pets, they are a beneficial member of their ecosystem and should be left alone. Harvester ants ( Pogonomyrmex spp.) are most noticeable in wildland areas by the 4 to 35-foot-wide circular bare spots they create on the soil surface. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County Jeff Schalau, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources
Backyard Gardener - Harvester Ants - July 17, 2019
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