Harvester ant

Pogonomyrmex badius workers transporting a seed to add to their granary
Messor sp. carrying seeds into their nest

Harvester ant is a common name for any of the species or genera of ants that collect seeds (called seed predation), or mushrooms as in the case of Euprenolepis procera, which are stored in the nest in communal chambers called granaries.[1] They are also referred to as agricultural ants. Seed harvesting by some desert ants is an adaptation to the lack of typical ant resources such as prey or honeydew from hemipterans. Harvester ants increase seed dispersal and protection, and provide nutrients that increase seedling survival of the desert plants. In addition, ants provide soil aeration through the creation of galleries and chambers, mix deep and upper layers of soil, and incorporate organic refuse into the soil.[2]

  1. ^ Conference, International Union for the Study of Social Insects. Italian Section. (1991). Biological studies on social and presocial arthropods: proceedings of the Third Conference of the Italian Section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (I.U.S.S.I.). Associazione Italiana per lo Studio degli Artropodi Sociali e Presociali (A.I.S.A.S.P.). p. 79.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uppstrom&Klompen_2011_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).