What do ants eat?
Ants like a mixture of honey and water, insects, and greases. They will eat almost anything except solid food. All food must be liquid. Not only food, ants need water. –Angelo Ant larvae can consume solids unlike adult ants. –Morosophomyrmex That’s funny. I’ve seen ants move powered sugar. I think in general to actually consume food this is correct. Yes, ants do need water — especially during a drought. That explains why they can be found around faucets, toilets, and sinks in houses during dry weather. They are foraging for water. –Mr. Ant Some species, like the leaf-cutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex), use leaves to produce fungi in their nests as a food source. Harvester ants (e.g. Pogonomyrmex) collect seeds to store food. Some species even use aphids, as if they were their cows, for their juice from plants. Some species forage by going to various fruits and flowers to collect nectar, especially with the honey pot ants. There are some honey pot ants (Myrmecocystus) that stay in th
This post will answer that question, and then look at a few interesting facts about ants. What do ants eat? Ants eat almost anything. They will eat most fruits, vegetables and plants they can find. They often eat smaller ants (of different species) and eat the meat off of dead insects and other small creatures. A few species of ants feed on fungus. These ants collect leaves which are placed in ‘fungal gardens’. The ants feed on the structures formed by the fungus. Interesting Facts About Ants • There are at least 12,000 different species of ants. Some people claim there are as many as 14,000 different species. • Ants live in almost every country in the world. You won’t find them in Antarctica, however. It’s too cold! • When ants forage for their food, they will travel up to 200m (700ft) from their nests. • The seeds of many tropical plants are spread by ants. • The eggs of 2 species of ants in Mexico are sold as insect caviar. As the eggs are rare, they sell for about $US40 per pound!
