Ants that eat plants, the ants that help plants grow. Plant eating ants come in many colors and sizes. A number of species of large leafcutter ants are becoming pests in Florida, California and Arizona. They cut and carry pieces of leaves up to 35 times their own weight. Then they chew them up into small pieces then take it back to their nests where they feed it to a special fungus called mycelium (of the family melyridae) which they raise on a substrate mix of chewed-up leaves and feces, the substrate is kept constantly moist by the liquid secretions from plant-eating ants. When mature, the mycelium produces small edible structures called gongylidia which are harvested and eaten by the ant colony. Ants serve as an important ecological function in many ecosystems. They help to keep insect populations in check by destroying their eggs, larvae, and pupae. This is especially true for ants that feed on other insects. Ants also vary their foraging behaviors seasonally, depending on the availability of food.
Plant Eating Ants
Plant eating ants are unique. They eat plants, and they have a complex social structure that helps them get the most out of their plant-based diet.
They are divided into three different castes: workers, soldiers, and reproductives. The reproductives are female ants that live in a colony with other females and their offspring. The reproductives have wings that allow them to fly away from their colony when it is necessary for survival.
The workers can be either male or female, but they do not reproduce within the colony. Instead, they spend their lives helping to care for the young ants, collecting food for their colony members, and tending to the queen’s eggs while they are developing into larvae.
Soldiers are like bodyguards for the rest of the colony members: they protect them against predators by attacking any creature that threatens them with their large pincers and stinger-like tails (modified legs).
Plants are much more than just a source of food for ants. In fact, they’re pretty important to the ant world.
Ants have been around for millions of years and have developed some pretty amazing relationships with plants. Some ants even form mutualistic relationships with their host plants: the ants protect the plant from predators and parasites, and in return the plant provides food, shelter, and sometimes even transportation! It’s like having your own personal chauffeur whenever you need it—and it doesn’t cost anything!
In addition to these types of symbiotic relationships between ants and plants, there are also parasitic relationships in which one species benefits at another’s expense. For example, some species of ants will feed on the nectar produced by flowers while others will consume pollen grains directly from anthers or stigmas.
List of Plant Eating Ants
- CONTAINS BOTANICAL INSECTICIDES: Spray on roses, vegetables, houseplants, ornamentals, trees, shrubs and flowers right up to the day of harvest.
- KILLS ON CONTACT: Kills aphids, tomato hornworms, green fruitworms and other listed insects.
- PROTECTS YOUR WHOLE GARDEN: Use both indoors and outdoors.
- READY-TO-USE PEST CONTROL: Spray upper and lower leaf surfaces – no mixing required.
- APPLY AS NEEDED: Treat weekly or apply as needed to control infestations (up 10 to times per season).
Additional Info :
Item Dimensions | |
Height | 10.33 Inches |
Width | 2.25 Inches |
Length | 4.25 Inches |
Weight | 3 Pounds |
- Garden Safe Houseplant & Garden Insect Killer Ready-to-Use 24oz Kills all stages of insects including eggs
- Kills bugs on contact
- For use on edibles up to day of harvest
- Kills aphids, beetles, caterpillars, ants, mealybugs, mites, leafhoppers, scale, thrips, fungus gnats, whitefly, adelgids, plant bugs
- Also kills sawfly larvae, psyllids, spittlebugs, phylloxera; use up to day of harvest
- Made with a botanical insecticide from the chrysanthemum flower
- Use indoors and outdoors
- Ready to use; kills on contact; measures 2.5 by 4.2 by 10.5 inches
Additional Info :
Item Dimensions | |
Height | 10.8 Inches |
Width | 4.6 Inches |
Length | 2.7 Inches |
Weight | 1 Pounds |
Additional Info :
Release Date | 2021-11-30T00:00:00.000Z |
Additional Info :
Item Dimensions | |
Height | 9.2 Inches |
Width | 0.6 Inches |
Length | 7.5 Inches |
Weight | 0.9 Pounds |
Release Date | 2017-04-11T00:00:01Z |
- INSECT KILLER: Kills 100+ insects including Aphids, Caterpillars, Whiteflies, Japanese Beetles, and more
- KILLS ON CONTACT: Kills listed insects on contact
- 14 DAY PROTECTION: Protects against listed insects for up to 14 days
- USE ON: Roses, flowers, plants, and even vegetable gardens
Additional Info :
Color | White |
Item Dimensions | |
Height | 1 Inches |
Width | 1 Inches |
Length | 1 Inches |
Release Date | 2021-11-11T00:00:01Z |