What Plants Do Ants Eat? A Guide to Understanding Ants’ Plant Diet

Ants are ubiquitous insects that can be found almost everywhere on Earth. With over 12000 known species ants have adapted to thrive in diverse environments by being generalist omnivores. While ants will opportunistically eat most anything they can find, many ant species have specialized relationships with plants that form a key part of their diet. In this article, we’ll explore the most common plants that ants eat and how ants consume different plant matter.

An Overview of Ants’ Plant Diet

Ants are omnivores meaning they eat both plant and animal matter The most common plant foods ants eat are

• Nectar – Ants drink the sweet nectar from flowers and extrafloral nectaries on plants.

• Sap – Ants harvest sap from wounds or sapsucking insects feeding on plants.

• Seeds – Harvester ants collect and store seeds to eat,

• Fruits – Ants take advantage of ripe, fallen fruits as a food source.

• Leaves – Leafcutter ants cut leaves to cultivate fungal gardens.

• Pollen – Some ants gather pollen as a protein source.

• Root exudates – Ants consume juices excreted by plant roots.

So in essence, ants will eat all parts of plants – leaves, stems, roots, flowers, seeds, and fruits. Their diverse plant diet provides carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Next, we’ll look at some specific examples of how different ants eat plants.

How Ants Consume Plant Foods

Ants have evolved specialized adaptations and behaviors to best capitalize on plant food sources. Here are some of the main ways ants eat plants:

Drinking Nectar

Many ants drink nectar from flowers and extrafloral nectaries. The sugary nectar provides an excellent source of carbohydrates for ants. Species like honeypot ants have workers with specialized sac-like abdomens to store nectar and honeydew.

Tending Sap-Sucking Insects

Ants will “tend” colonies of aphids, scales, and other sap-feeding insects that produce honeydew secretions rich in sugars. The ants harvest the honeydew while protecting the insects from predators. This mutualistic relationship provides ants with a renewable sap/honeydew source.

Collecting Seeds and Fruits

Seed-harvesting ants collect large stores of seeds, fruits, and other plant parts to bring back to their nests. The ants eat the nutritious outer seed coat and fruit pulp. Seeds/fruits are an important food source for ants in arid environments.

Cultivating Fungus Gardens

Leafcutter ants cut fragments of leaves to nourish underground fungus gardens. The ants cannot directly digest the leaves, so they use the fungus as a food source to convert the leaves into nutritional mycelium.

Robbing Insect Prey

Honeypot ants will raid the nests of other insects like wasps to steal insect larvae and pupae. The protein-rich insect brood provides an essential source of nutrition to supplement the ants’ carbohydrate-rich diet of nectar and honeydew.

Extrafloral Nectar Feeding

Some plants have extrafloral nectaries that secrete nectar away from the flowers. Ants drink this nectar and in exchange will protect the plant from herbivores. The mutualism provides food for the ants and defense for the plant.

What Kinds of Plants Do Ants Eat?

Ants will harvest resources from a wide variety of plant species. Any plants that produce nectar, sap, or fruits/seeds are potential food sources for ants. Some types of plants that ants commonly eat include:

• Flowering plants – For nectar from the flowers. Ants like lilacs, milkweed, and snapdragons.

• Trees – Maple, oak, and pine trees provide sap and some seed food sources.

• Shrubs – Nectar and sap from shrubs like Cotoneaster and Barberry.

• Herbs – Mint, thyme, and other herbs provide nectar attractive to ants.

• Crops – Some farmers view ants as garden pests for eating corn, beans, and other crops.

• Weeds – Ants will opportunistically eat nectar and seeds from weeds and wild plants.

• Fungi – Leafcutter ants cultivate certain fungi species in their nests to serve as a food source.

So in essence, any vascular plants that produce flowers, sap, seeds, or fruits are likely to provide food for ants in some capacity. Even non-vascular plants like fungi are grown and eaten by some ant species.

Do Ants Harm Plants They Eat?

In most cases, ants cause very minimal damage to plants when collecting food. Drinking nectar or sap does not hurt the plant. Seed harvesting by ants can benefit plant dispersal.

However, in some instances ants may cause detrimental effects:

• Leafcutter ants defoliate plants when cutting leaf fragments to feed their fungus gardens. This can kill small plants or stunt growth.

• Some ants will eat roots, stems, and other plant parts which provides carbohydrates but can weaken or kill the plant.

• Tending sap-sucking insects like aphids can cause plant stress in cases of heavy infestations.

• Farming ants may cut roots and trim vegetation around nest entrances, damaging crop plants.

So while most ant feeding does not significantly affect plants, certain behaviors like defoliation or debarking by some species can negatively impact plants. Careful monitoring is needed in cases where ants damage valuable plants.

Using Ant-Repelling Plants

A common gardening question is how to deter ants from landscaping plants. Certain plants produce strong scents or oils that naturally repel ants. Ant-repelling plants can be strategically incorporated into gardens prone to ant invasions.

Some effective ant-repelling plants include:

• Mint
• Lavender
• Citronella
• Catnip
• Marigolds
• Chrysanthemums
• Garlic

Interplanting these strongly scented plants with existing landscaping can help block trails and deter ants away from entering gardens and lawns. You can also pot some repellent plants on windowsills or other ant entry points.

Ants fill an important ecological niche as omnivores that feed on many sources including plants. Their diverse plant diet consists of nectar, sap, leaves, seeds, fruits, and cultivated fungi. While most ant feeding causes minimal harm, certain behaviors like defoliation can damage valued plants. Incorporating natural ant repellent plants is an easy way to discourage ant invasions in your garden. Understanding what plants ants eat provides key insights into their survival strategies and interactions in nature.