Ants are quite amazing creatures when you get to know more about them. They are considered among the most social insects ever on planet earth. They are also one of the popularly known insect species. Like, they exist everywhere. Where there is food, there is an ant colony living nearby. They are food seekers and do whatever they can in search of food. As you all know, these insects are even considered hard workers and are known for their ability to endure and lift things that are more than their weight.
Ever wondered what do ants eat? Ants are well-known for eating a very wide range of substances. Ants are omnivores in nature, which means the range of their diet is far bigger than one could expect. But most of their consumption pattern is inclined towards foods that are flavored in their way. We have ant groups that eat sugary substances and we also have the ones that feed on fungi. The topic of what do ants eat is something that stirs the curiosity of a lot of people.
The ant population of today’s world is humongous. It is said that the ant population might even be thrice the times of the human population, which is expected to grow furthermore. Ants are the owners of exciting facts. So sit back and get to know the answer to your question of what do ants eat with an addition of some other famous must-know facts about these hardworking creatures.
Also check out: What are the Best Friendship Animals?, brought to you by Icytales.
1) What Do Ants Eat?
Ant colonies contain a lot of individuals. There might even be a million individual ants in a colony built under a depth of just 2 -3 feet. This states the fact that ants need more food as their population grows. This forces the worker ants to go in search of good and reliable food sources. A stable food source must be available to them to survive.
If not, they are forced into migrating or they might even perish. Now, this diet plan of theirs is somewhat similar to other insects. The ants don’t have any particular specifications when it comes to eating. They eat anything consumable.
Ants are known to leave a particular scent during their food search. They leave this scent on their path from home to the food source. This is one of their best food navigating and acquiring strategies here.
Different ants eat different things. They have their very own diets. This intelligent insect species has a list of favorite consumables.
Let us take a look at some of the best answers to the question, What do ants eat?
1.1) Wood and Leaf
This food source is heavily restricted to a special group of ant species known as Carpenter Ants. Now, termites are the popular ones to eat wood. But most of the ants are not wood consumers. Only a specific group of Carpenter Ants is known to eat wood. These ants will also eat other insects which are of a much smaller size.
Wood is not consumable to be precise. But the cellulose substance present in it provides the Carpenter Ants some kind of energy to dig into. This is an important answer to the question of what do ants eat.
Now, coming to the other half. We do have another kind of ant called the Leafcutter Ant. As the name suggests, these ants tend to feed on leaves of different kinds. Most of the time, both Carpenter Ants and Leaf Cutter Ants come in contact with each other as they end up residing side by side. They both end up as neighbors often. A Leafcutter Ant is much smaller when compared to the other variations.
1.2) Sugar Substances
Most of the ant species have sugary foods under their favorite consumables. Sugar Ants are the most popular in tracking down and consuming foods rich in sugar. Well, sugar is found in most human consumables as well. It is the primary reason why ants can be found near your sugar containers or even near other locations where you store food that is generally not spiced up in nature.
These creatures always search for food that they can carry home. Bread crumbs wasted by humans are one of the popular consumables for house ants. This is the best answer to the question of what do ants eat.
An interesting thing here is that ants eat another sugary substance that is invisible to human eyes. The ants go around consuming a discharge from another insect species called the Aphids.
Aphids are sap-sucking insects that acquire their nutrient from plant sap. Now, they discharge something quite invisible, yet rich in sugar and nutrients. Ants don’t hunt Aphids down, they just consume the discharge left by them.
At times, Aphids offer their discharge to the ant groups in exchange for protection. This is a fact that is interesting for a creature that size.
1.3) Fungus
Consuming fungus is something that was not considered by most of the ant groups at first. But as time passes, the fungus is growing to be one of the favorite consumables of different species of ants. They are now considered a heavy carrier of different nutrients fit for ants. This is one of the most unexpected answers to the question of what do ants eat.
This all started with the ants residing in the forest areas. Now, a lot of ants residing in that region target the mushroom as a food source. Mushrooms tend to sprout out from watery surfaces, paving way for the formation of fungi all around them. Now, the fungi which they stumble upon are also considered consumable here.
Some ants can also ‘cultivate’. Yes, ants can grow fungi all by themselves. They don’t need to go in search of it anymore, they can just cultivate fungus and can start consuming it. Ant groups like the Leaf Cutter Ants are popularly known to practice this step quite often. It has been proven as an interesting process for the ants to grow fungus on themselves for consumption.
1.4) Fruits and Vegetables
As said before, ants are fond of sugary substances. Not all species of insects have these many options for their consumption and we must say that ants are blessed at this point. They can feed on anything they want. But the ones which they are most favorite about are some things which we consume as well. This is the most obvious answer to the question of what do ants eat.
This includes the category of fruits that you consume. People who keep fruits like bananas and mangoes in their house must always be prepared to meet an unexpected group of friends, the ants. Ants eat anything, and something filled with sugary nutrients will always be a treat for them. Fruits like bananas, Mangoes, Oranges, and strawberries are generally rich in sugar.
These sugar contents tend to attract the ants nearby. Their consumption is not restricted to fruits alone. We also have certain kind of vegetables which tends to attract ants. We have vegetables like Tomatoes and potatoes which most of the ant species prefer when they are available at a rotten stage. It makes their consumption process much easier.
1.5) Protein-rich and Oily Foods
Foods rich in protein like eggs and meat are also some of the favorite consumables for a lot of ants. Ant groups like the thief ants are always in search of food that is rich in proteins and fats. They are also seekers of oily foods. Usually, meat pieces that are discarded or that fall on the ground prove to be the tastiest meal for an entire ant colony which they could feast upon for days. This might be a fitting answer to the question of what do ants eat.
Steak pieces that are well grilled in oil never fail to attract a huge number of ants when left on the ground. Ants are heavy lifters. They just move the entire steak to the colony or at times, finish the whole piece by calling a part of the whole colony for help. They either carry the food or consume it then and there. Grease ants are the ones which prefer oily foods over sugary and other normally flavored food items. This is considered the healthiest answer to the question of what ants eat.
They find oily foods quite enjoyable. Now, protein is not only found in human consumables. It is even found in dead insects and animals, usually, road kills. As you all would’ve noticed, dead insects and dead animals are always being feasted upon by a large group of ants. They just swarm around the dead body and feed on the whole thing. This proves the statement that ants focus on consuming protein, no matter what form the protein is. It can even be in its rotten form.
2) Some Other Facts About Ants
2.1) Ants are Super Strong
Apart from knowing about the answers to the question of what do plants eat, there are a lot of other side facts as well. Ants are one of the most powerful creatures in today’s world. It can lift things that weigh about fifty times their whole body weight. Each group has its very own lifting capacity. Several Science concepts explain the fact of ants and their incredible strength. They are relatively much smaller when compared to any other insects.
Now, if something becomes smaller and smaller in size, its cross-sectional area also reduces gradually. This reduces the whole process of applying force to an object. This feature enables ants to give out tremendous amounts of energy and force into lifting an object.
2.2) Ants Don’t Have the Hearing sense
Most insects do not have a hearing sense to aid them through their regular course of life and these little heavy lifters fall under that category of insects. Mammals usually use their auditory canals to receive information through sound waves.
But here due to the absence of the hearing system, ants have dedicated sensory systems which run along their feet to identify vibrations. When an ant starts to walk, it starts to sense vibrations around. When it stops, it analyses the movements taking place around it.
2.3) Ants are considered To Be the Most Intelligent Insect Species
Ants are proud owners of a lot of good titles. Ants are usually considered smart beings due to their ability to solve complex problems. Scientists have discovered that ants can find a lot of solutions on their own. For instance, ants were the first creatures that were known to build a body bridge to move from one place to another.
They work together to make things possible. Their defined communication resembles that of a human communication system. These creatures are known to have more than 200,000 brain cells in their tiny little heads. It is a lot for a creature of that size. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it?
2.4) Ants are One of the Oldest Living Creatures To Exist
The history of ants even predates the existence of mankind. This simply means that ants were here on earth before humans. These creatures are in existence for a very long time and have even been said to have survived the huge disaster which took place years ago, wiping out every single Jurassic life which ever existed on earth. There was a huge change in answers to the question of what do ants eat through this fact.
A study taken in the United States of America has proven a fact that ants are in existence for nearly about 160- 170 Million years. These tiny creatures have outlived a lot of animal species which doesn’t even have a sign of existence in today’s world. Ants are nearly blind and deaf. But they have still managed to travel this far, which is quite astonishing to hear.
2.5) Ants Can Come Back From the Dead
Ants are usually noticed to come back from the dead. This zombified condition of ants is caused by a special fungus that starts to infect the ants. Slowly, the fungus starts to take control over the entire body and leaves them mindless.
The fungus and its functions have not been detailed further yet. But it is said that this fungus causes the infected ant to move out of its colony. Later, it starts to sprout out from the ant’s body, leaving it to dust. Now, this fungus is spreadable to other fellow ants. An interesting fact here is infected ants are identified by the healthy ones and are thrown away before the other ants are infected.
3) More About “Ant Colonies”
It is known that about 10,000 subspecies of insects belong under the ant species. Ants are social. One ant cannot exist without the help of its fellow member ants. Now an interesting thing to know about ants is that ants live in colonies. They have one key member called the Queen ant. This one is the mother of all. The queen is the one to start a whole colony by digging and setting up a new spot for its eggs. The eggs soon hatch and the ants from them will start to serve the queen ant.
The queen ant guides the whole army of ants and just looks over them. Their primary function is to reproduce and create the next generation of ants. Next up we have the Female ants. Female ants eat what they salvage. Female ants are the honest workers here. Female ones are also known as worker ants. These ants go on pillaging stuff and bring food back home. They work on taking care of the baby ants. They are also responsible to find new sources of food by scouting the environment. This fact at times influences the question of what do ants eat.
And lastly, we have the Male ants. Male ants eat food brought by the female ones. They rarely go out for pillaging. But they have a primary role to play here. They help the queen ants with the process of reproduction. As soon as they finish reproducing, male ants die. This pattern of life cycle tends to change in different ant groups. In some cases, the female ants will grow out to be Asexuals, creating a twist of events within the colony.
Conclusion
These are some of the most interesting facts related to ants and their lives. The answer to the question of what do ants eat is a pretty entertaining topic as well. Ants are magnificent creations of god. They are even considered to be one of the smartest and most hardworking creatures to ever exist on this planet. There are a lot of other complex facts related to Ants as well. I hope you found the answer to the question of what ants eat, and I guess this article proved informative to you. Kindly check on the related content, “Fun facts about elephants that you should know!” brought to you by Icytales.
Last Updated on by NamitaSoren