Seed Harvesters - # - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Seed-Harvesting Ants

Granivory has evolved numerous times among the ants, especially in arid regions where seed stores help colonies survive extended periods of dearth.

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A minor worker of Pheidole aberrans, a small but ambitious South American harvester ant, lugs a grass seed to her nest.

Correa, Santa Fe, Argentina

A trail of Pheidole rhea, North America's largest Pheidole species.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Meranoplus unicolor. An Australian harvester ant carries a seed back to her nest.

Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia

Aphaenogaster cockerelli, one of the most conspicuous harvester ants of American southwest, carries a mesquite seed back to her nest.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Aphaenogaster albisetosa harvester ants carry a seed back to their nest.

Portal, Arizona, USA

A nest of Messor pergandei.

Mojave National Preserve, California, USA

Messor pergandei seed-harvesting ants, with seeds. Colonies of this species contain worker ants of different sizes, while most other seed harvesters in the Mojave desert have monomorphic workers.

Anza Borrego Desert, California, USA

Messor lariversi carrying a seed back to her nest. Night-active species are often lighter in color than their day-active counterparts.

Sand Springs Dune, Nevada, USA

Predatory Euryopis spiders snatch foraging harvester ants and drag them up grass blades to feed. Here, a spider consumes a worker Messor pergandei.

Mojave National Preserve, California, USA

A minor worker of Pheidole aberrans, a small but ambitious South American harvester ant, lugs a grass seed to her nest.

Correa, Santa Fe, Argentina

Canon EOS 20D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3504x2336 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: seeds ants seed insect insects hymenoptera formicidae myrmicinae polymorphism pheidole harvester ant worker polymorphism bigheaded ants pheidole abberans

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Seed-Harvesting Ants

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