harvester ant

harvester ant
any of several red or black ants, esp. of the genus Pogonomyrmex, of the southwestern U.S., that feed on and store the seeds of grasses. Also called agricultural ant.
[1880-85]

* * *

      any of several different genera of ants (e.g., Messor, Atta, Pheidole, Pogonomyrmex) that gather seeds and leaves. Messor species collect, husk, and store seeds in their nests. Atta species collect leaves and use them to grow fungi, which they eat.

      Some Pheidole members have large strong jaws that are probably used to crush the harvested seeds. Pogonomyrmex, another seed harvester, can inflict a painful sting. See ant.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Harvester ant — Ants known as Harvester ants include:;species *Red harvester ant ( Pogonomyrmex barbatus ) *Maricopa harvester ant, the most venomous insect in the world.;genus *Pogonomyrmex *Atta *Messor *Pheidole …   Wikipedia

  • harvester ant — noun : an ant that gathers and stores up seeds for food: as a. : a member of an Old World genus (Messor) common around the Mediterranean b. : any of several western No. American ants; especially : a common ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) of… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Red harvester ant — Taxobox | name = Red harvester ant regnum = Animalia phylum = Arthropoda classis = Insecta ordo = Hymenoptera familia = Formicidae subfamilia = Myrmicinae tribus = Myrmicini genus = Pogonomyrmex species = P. barbatus binomial = Pogonomyrmex… …   Wikipedia

  • Ant — For other uses, see Ant (disambiguation). Ants Temporal range: 130–0 Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Ant colony — A plaster cast of an ant nest. Ant hill and ant tracks, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park …   Wikipedia

  • ant — n pismire, hymenopteron, hymenopter, Chiefly Dial. emmet, Latin, formica, Fr. fourmit Span, hor miga; red ant, agricultural ant, harvester ant, leaf cutting ant; foraging ant, army ant, driver ant, legionary ant; carpenter ant, white ant, termite …   A Note on the Style of the synonym finder

  • Harvester — Har vest*er ( [ e]r), n. 1. One who harvests; a machine for cutting and gathering grain; a reaper. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) A harvesting ant. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ant — antlike, adj. /ant/, n. 1. any of numerous black, red, brown, or yellow social insects of the family Formicidae, of worldwide distribution esp. in warm climates, having a large head with inner jaws for chewing and outer jaws for carrying and… …   Universalium

  • ant — n. 1) army; carpenter; harvester; honey; leaf cutter ants 2) a colony of ants * * * [ænt] carpenter harvester honey leaf cutter ants a colony of ants army …   Combinatory dictionary

  • ant — One of the most numerous insects (order Hymenoptera), characterized by an extraordinary development of colonial dwelling and caste specialization. black imported fire a. SYN: Solenopsis richteri. fire a. any of several species in the genus… …   Medical dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”