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Pogonomyrmex californicus, or California harvester ant, [1] is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is native to North America, where it occurs in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. [2] It is best known as the ant that is sent out for Uncle Milton's Ant Farm. [3]
Pogonomyrmex badius workers transporting a seed to add to their granary Messor sp. carrying seeds into their nest. Harvester ant is a common name for any of the species or genera of ants that collect seeds (called seed predation), or mushrooms as in the case of Euprenolepis procera, which are stored in the nest in communal chambers called granaries. [1]
Veromessor pergandei is a species of harvester ant native to the Southwestern United States, especially the deserts of southeastern California. It has also been identified in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. [1] It was first described by Gustav Mayr, who named it Aphaenogaster pergandei.
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, or the western harvester ant, is a species of ant that inhabits the deserts and arid grasslands of the American West at or below 6,300 feet (1,900 m). [2] Like other harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex , it is so called because of its habit of collecting edible seeds and other food items.
Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a species of harvester ant from the genus Pogonomyrmex. Its common names include red ant and red harvester ant. [1] These large (5– to 7-mm) ants prefer arid chaparral habitats and are native to the Southwestern United States. [2] Nests are made underground (up to 2.5 m deep) in exposed areas.
Pogonomyrmex maricopa, the Maricopa harvester ant, is one of the most common species of harvester ant found in the U.S. state of Arizona, [1] but it is also known from California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas and Utah, and the Mexican states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Sonora. [2]
Pogonomyrmex (sensu stricto) workers have the most toxic venom documented in any insects, with Pogonomyrmex maricopa being the most toxic tested thus far. [4] It has an LD 50 of only 0.12 mg/kg, compared to western honey bee venom, at 2.8 mg/kg, and comparable to cobra venom.
Other ants are attracted to follow the trail and then work co-operatively to transport the food item back to the nest. The trail is short-lived and soon evaporates. [5] In the Chihuahuan Desert, Novomessor cockerelli competes for resources with another seed-eating ant species, the red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus).