Ants are omnivorous insects that feed on a diverse range of food sources. When it comes to plants, ants interact with them in various ways as part of their feeding habits. While ants do not directly consume most plant material, they do have complex dietary relationships with vegetation.
The Basics of Ant Diet
Different ant species have diverse dietary preferences. but their diets generally consist of
- Insects and insect secretions
- Dead animals
- Fungi
- Fruits and seeds
- Plant secretions like nectar and sap
- Human foods and waste
So ants are opportunistic feeders that will eat almost anything they can find, But plants are not a major direct food source for most ant species
How Ants Interact with Plants
There are a few primary ways ants interact with plants as part of their feeding behavior:
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Tending sap-sucking insects: Ants protect and farm aphids, scale insects, and other sap-feeding bugs that extract nutrients from plants. The ants “milk” these insects to obtain the sweet honeydew secretions they excrete.
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Dispersing seeds: Ants take fruits and carry seeds back to their nests. The discarded seeds can then germinate and grow into new plants.
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Pollination: Some ants play a minor role in pollinating flowers as they forage for nectar. However, bees are much more significant pollinators.
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Pruning: Certain ant species prune leaves, stems, and roots in the process of nest construction or clearing trails. But excessive pruning can damage plants.
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Limited herbivory: Carpenter ants and some other species do directly consume a small amount of plant material like wood, roots, stems, leaves, and seeds. But most ant herbivory is insignificant.
So while ants have complex dietary relationships with plants, they do not directly consume most vegetation. Their interaction is primarily beneficial or neutral, except in cases of large infestations.
Plants that Attract Ants
Ants are especially drawn to plants with extrafloral nectaries that secrete nectar from areas other than the flowers, such as:
- Peonies
- Wild parsnips
- Desert willows
- Clematis
- Penstemon
- Rose bushes
The nectar from these plants provides food for foraging ants. Ants are also attracted to plants harboring colonies of sap-sucking insects like aphids, where they can feast on the honeydew secretions.
Benefits of Ants to Plants
When not excessive in number, ants can offer some advantages to plants and gardens:
- They prey on pests like caterpillars, beetle larvae, and chicks, reducing damage.
- Tunneling aerates soil and brings minerals closer to the surface.
- Nutrients in ant waste act as natural fertilizer.
- Pruning and debris cleanup prevents disease.
- They spread seeds and pollinate, assisting plant reproduction.
Problems Caused by Too Many Ants
But excessive ant populations lead to detrimental effects:
- Farming sap-sucking insects causes stunted growth and mold issues.
- Excessive pruning damages plants by removing leaves, buds, roots.
- Tunnels can divert water from roots and erode soil.
- Biting and stinging fruit harms appearance and taste.
- Large numbers congregating on plants can break stems.
- Painful stings from fire ants.
- Invading homes raises hygiene concerns.
Tips for Managing Ants in the Garden
Here are some tips for balancing the pros and cons of ants in your garden:
- Remove food spills and ripe produce to avoid attracting excessive ants.
- Prune and thin plants to prevent moisture buildup where ants thrive.
- Introduce beneficial predatory insects that feed on ants.
- Use barriers and baits in heavily infested areas away from edibles.
- Introduce ant-repelling plants along ant trails.
- Pour boiling water on isolated colonies to eliminate populations.
Ants and other insect visitors
Without relationship to the trap structures of the plants, other insect associates are sometimes responsible for the visits of ants. The hollow frass tubes of the Noctuid, Papaipema appassionata Harv. are occupied as nesting sites by a small ant which Dr. Wheeler identified for me as Prenolepis parvula Mayr.; and another ant which occupies cavities in the root stocks of these plants (probably cause by the larvae of this same insect) was indicated as Solenopsis sp.
My first paper described and illustrated the use of the pitchers of Sarracenia as nesting sites by the solitary wasp Isodontia harrisi Fernald; and …later observations [show that] that habit was determined to be widespread (North Carolina to Mississippi inclusive), and that all suitable pitchers (those of S. flava, S. minor, S. sledgei, S. drummondii, S. rubra, S. jonesii) were thus utilized. Almost as widespread as the use of these pitchers by the wasp, were observations that the nests of the wasps, stored with Oecanthus or with small green grasshoppers, are systematically robbed of this stored food and with the resultant destruction of the wasp progeny, by ants which chew an entrance hole through the pitcher wall opposite the stored cell, and consume its contents. Preserved specimens (in coll) from one such occurrence were identified by Dr. Wheeler as Crematogaster lineolata var.; but where tall the observed instances of such robbery (Southern Pines, NC; Summerville, SC; De Funiak Springs, FL; Theodore, AL; Biloxi, MS) were the work of that same species, is not determinable from the evidence at hand.
Ant visits to the flowers
The flowers of the Sarracenias are quite commonly visited by numbers of ants, though the flower structure does not seem to indicate any adaptation for pollination through the agency of these small insects, which also continue their visits to the unripe ovaries, which too secreted nectar. Probably a number of ant species are included in this habit. Specimens of those visiting the flowers and nectarines of S. flava were identified for me by Dr. W. M. Wheeler as Tapinoma pruinosa Roger.
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FAQ
What plant will keep ants away?
Marigold. Marigolds are more than just a pretty face; they’re one of the top plants that repel ants. These radiant blooms are nature’s own pest control, armed with a powerful weapon: pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is a natural insect repellent that effectively protects against ants and other bothersome garden pests.Oct 3, 2023
What does an ant eat?
Ants are omnivores, which means they eat plants and animals. Common foods eaten by ants include leaves, fungus, nectar (the liquid that plants and flowers produce), fruits, vegetables, sugar, insects, lizards, amphibians, and insect eggs.
Why shouldn’t you kill ants?
When you kill an ant, it releases pheromones from its body to alert others ants in the colony that the area is risky and has something that can cause death. Although it is confusing that a danger signal, specifically one that can cause death, would attract more ants.
What do ants hate the most?
Salt, baby powder, lemon juice, chalk, vinegar, bay leaves, cinnamon, or peppermint oil are a few items that you have around your home that will stop ants from coming inside. Lay these out in areas where you see ants, and they’ll stop using that area as an entrance into your house. Landscape buffer.