Hobbies And Interests
How Ants Eat
Ants tend to have food preferences. Sweet and greasy foods, for example, are more likely to attract an ant's attention. But technically, ants don't eat any of it. Ants can't digest solid foods. Instead, they carry it back to their nest and feed it to their young. The larvae digest the food and regurgitate it in a liquid form that ants can eat.
Insects
Insects are the most common living food source for ants. While most ants are not large enough to attack other insects alone, as a group they can take down most anything. They have been known to attack and kill bees, spiders, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles, flies and other ants. The only insect ants usually won't eat are aphids. Aphids produce honeydew, which the ants like to eat. In exchange, ants will protect the aphids from predators like lady beetles. Fire ants, however, will attack cotton aphids.
Small Animals
Most animals are too large for ants to kill. But ants have been known to prey on eggs and newly hatched birds or reptiles. Carpenter ants and fire ants are the most likely to exhibit this behavior in the United States. Red imported fire ants will also prey on small mammals like mice and voles. In fact, since red imported fire ants were introduced in the early 1900s, scientists have been noticing a significant decline in some species of birds, turtles and reptiles. Animals that bury their nests or lay their eggs on the ground are most susceptible.
Plants
Ants will also eat plants. Usually, they feed on seeds that they find, but fire ants have been known to eat fruit and vegetables developing on trees and under the ground. They will consume potatoes, peanuts, okra and citrus. Carpenter ants often get the reputation for eating and killing trees because they build their nest in them. However, carpenter ants do not eat wood and they usually build nests inside dead or decaying wood and not live trees.