Pogonomyrmex barbatus red harvester ant worker, carrying a seed back to the nest. Tucson, Arizona, USA

Pogonomyrmex desertorum harvesting seeds from a grass stalk. Tucson, Arizona, USA

A Pogonomyrmex rugosus worker shows off her psammophore, the basket of long hairs on the underside of her head used for carrying sand grains. This structure enticed Austrian taxonomist Gustav Mayr to name this genus Pogonomyrmex, or "bearded ant". Tucson, Arizona, USA