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Seed-Harvesting Ants

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Encyclopedia of Social Insects

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Synonym

Harvester ants

Seed-harvesting ants, or harvester ants, depend entirely or substantially on seeds for food. It is used both as a vernacular term that is applied to the conspicuous species that engage in seed harvesting, and as a technical term for those species who eat seeds for a living, even if they are inconspicuous and known only to specialists (Fig. 1). While the diversity of ants, in general, is greatest in the moist tropics, harvester ants reach their greatest diversity and abundance in deserts and in arid grassland environments. In these ecosystems they can be the most conspicuous members of the local ant fauna. As a result, they have received considerable attention from ancient observers to current investigators.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Nest of the western harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, from the western United States. The aboveground portion of the nest of this species is a common sight in arid grasslands and deserts

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Blaine J. Cole & Diane C. Wiernasz

Authors
  1. Blaine J. Cole
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  2. Diane C. Wiernasz
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Correspondence to Blaine J. Cole .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of the West Indies, Department of Life Sciences University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    Christopher Starr

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Cole, B.J., Wiernasz, D.C. (2019). Seed-Harvesting Ants. In: Starr, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_103-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_103-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-90306-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-90306-4

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