{"id":3041,"date":"2022-10-24T01:12:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-23T17:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=3041"},"modified":"2023-09-19T20:10:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:10:57","slug":"do-ants-eat-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Ants Eat Plants?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>No, ants do not eat plants. Despite being opportunistic eaters that feed on a variety of food sources, ants don\u2019t eat and consume grown plants. They do however, feed on plant material such as fruit, nectar, sap, and seeds.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll learn more about ants and plants as we learn more about whether ants are bad for plants or not. We\u2019ll further discuss what plant material ants actually eat and break down how they can harm them. We\u2019ll also look into how to control ant populations to make sure that they don\u2019t end up damaging your plants.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-plants.jpg\" alt=\"do ants eat plants\" class=\"wp-image-3043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-plants.jpg 600w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-plants-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/jerzygorecki-2233926\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7363217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerzy G\u00f3recki<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7363217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#What_Plant_Material_Do_Ants_Eat\" title=\"What Plant Material Do Ants Eat?\">What Plant Material Do Ants Eat?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#Do_Ants_Eat_Flowers\" title=\"Do Ants Eat Flowers?\">Do Ants Eat Flowers?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#Do_Ants_Eat_Leaves\" title=\"Do Ants Eat Leaves?\">Do Ants Eat Leaves?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#Are_Ants_Bad_For_Plants\" title=\"Are Ants Bad For Plants?\">Are Ants Bad For Plants?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#How_Can_Ants_Harm_Plants\" title=\"How Can Ants Harm Plants?\">How Can Ants Harm Plants?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#How_To_Stop_Ants_from_Damaging_Your_Plants\" title=\"How To Stop Ants from Damaging Your Plants\">How To Stop Ants from Damaging Your Plants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-plants\/#Summary_Do_Ants_Eat_Plants\" title=\"Summary: Do Ants Eat Plants?\">Summary: Do Ants Eat Plants?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Plant_Material_Do_Ants_Eat\"><\/span>What Plant Material Do Ants Eat?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-animals_3-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-37\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-animals_3-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-animals_3-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-animals_3-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-animals_3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, ants don\u2019t eat the plants themselves, but do feed on some plant material. Ants, for instance, love to eat sweets and therefore frequent plants and flowers for sap and nectar. In fact, ants even build mutualistic relationships with plants for these foods. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.nsf.gov\/news\/between-ants-acacias-timing-everything\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/beta.nsf.gov\/news\/between-ants-acacias-timing-everything\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">acacia ants protect acacia trees <\/a>from herbivores in exchange for nectar and shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apart from sap and nectar, ants also feed on any fruits and seeds that they find through foraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Eat_Flowers\"><\/span>Do Ants Eat Flowers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No, <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-flowers\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2990\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ants don\u2019t eat flowers<\/a>. Ants only really visit flowers because of the nectar that they produce. To ants flowers are simply a means to nectar, a sweet food source that provides them sugar, amino acids, lipids, and organic compounds that help them survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, while ants don\u2019t eat flowers, they may end up damaging them.&nbsp; Some ants like the <em>Formica neorufibarbis gelida <\/em>have been shown to chew on certain parts of flowers to obtain nectar and other food. Sometimes these ants may damage or dislodge the pistil and negatively affect seed production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Eat_Leaves\"><\/span>Do Ants Eat Leaves?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As with flowers, <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-eat-leaves\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"3017\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ants also don\u2019t eat leaves<\/a>. In the same way however, that doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t harm or damage them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While they may not consume leaves, some ants called leafcutter ants are known to cut them down and destroy them. In fact, these ants are considered pests in agricultural fields or gardens as they cut down leaves and defoliate trees to death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Ants_Bad_For_Plants\"><\/span>Are Ants Bad For Plants?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/are-ants-bad-for-plants-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/are-ants-bad-for-plants-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/are-ants-bad-for-plants-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/are-ants-bad-for-plants-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/are-ants-bad-for-plants-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/ilyessuti-3558510\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=3716248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ilona Ily\u00e9s<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=3716248\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s no clear cut answer as to whether <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-bad-for-plants\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2035\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ants are bad for plants<\/a> or not. While we\u2019ve shown that ants can indeed damage plants as they chew on leaves or flowers, they still remain to be ecologically important and provide plants with a number of benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One example of how ants can go both ways can be shown through leafcutter ants. While these ants are considered to be agricultural pests, they actually aren\u2019t pests in natural habitats. In fact, these notorious ants that cut down and defoliate trees, are actually deemed beneficial and a keystone species as they contribute largely to environmental diversity, productivity, and nutrient and energy flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So really, the answer is it depends. Factors such as species, population, and context can make ants good for plants one day and bad in another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Can_Ants_Harm_Plants\"><\/span>How Can Ants Harm Plants?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-have-muscles-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-have-muscles-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-have-muscles-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-have-muscles-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-have-muscles-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Leafcutter_ants.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geoff Gallice from Gainesville, FL, USA<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of benefits, ants can harm plants in a number of ways. These ways are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Physical Damage<\/strong>. As already mentioned, ants can directly or physically damage plants as they chew on its parts. Certain ants such as the leafcutter ants and <em>Formica neorufibarbis gelida<\/em> have been shown to chew on leaves and flowers and damage plants to the point of defoliation or affecting seed growth.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Sap Farming<\/strong>. Ants may also indirectly harm plants through the relationships that they build with other insects. For example, ants are known to tend and farm aphids. In exchange for honeydew, ants protect these aphids from predators, essentially allowing them to grow in numbers. The issue however is that these aphids are herbivorous and feed exclusively on plant sap. They take nutrients away from plants and may cause molting leaves, stunted growth, and even plant death.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Insect Deterrent. <\/strong>Ants can negatively affect seed dispersal as they deter more efficient pollen vectors. While ants can be all goody goody some insects like aphids and mealybugs, they can be extremely aggressive to their competitors. They, for example, attack bees that try to get a share of nectar to the point that some bees have learned to avoid flowers that smell of ants.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Tunneling. <\/strong>Lastly, ants may weaken or damage root systems as they tunnel through soil. They may also uproot plants as they dig to build their underground nests.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Stop_Ants_from_Damaging_Your_Plants\"><\/span>How To Stop Ants from Damaging Your Plants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ant infestations may ultimately end up harming your plants, so it would be in your best interest to control them. Here are a few methods you can apply to so do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Get Rid of Aphids and Mealybugs<\/strong>. As mentioned, ants may indirectly damage plants through the relationships they develop with pests like aphids and mealybugs. Therefore, removing temptation is a must and you should try to get rid of these pests the moment you see them latched to your plants.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Use Repellents or Deterrents.<\/strong> Planting ant repellants such as peppermints, lavender, and catnip, may help deter ants. Kitchen spices such as cayenne and cinnamon and acids like lemon juice can also work. Just sprinkle or apply a bit of these around your plants and you\u2019ll keep ants away.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Use Diatomaceous Earth.<\/strong> Diatomaceous earth or DE is a chalky powder made from diatom shells. Farmers often use this to manage ant populations as it effectively gets rid of ants while being non-toxic to plants and other animals. Just be sure to use food-grade DE if ever you do choose to use this method.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Ant Baits.&nbsp; <\/strong>Aside from DE you may also use insecticides such as baits.<strong> <\/strong>These baits are a mixture of toxic matter and food that are attractive to ants. They lure ants to take the bait back to their nests where they can potentially pass it to the queen.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In using any of these methods, do remember that ants can also provide benefits for plants. Therefore, ecologists suggest that keeping a healthy population of ants is ideal as compared to fully getting rid of them.This is due to the fact that the pros presented by ants for plants and the environment are more significant than their cons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_Do_Ants_Eat_Plants\"><\/span>Summary: Do Ants Eat Plants?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-leaves-3-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-leaves-3-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-leaves-3-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-leaves-3-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-eat-leaves-3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Leaf-cutter-ants-snd.JPG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SabineDeviche<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To summarize, no ants don\u2019t eat plants themselves, but they do eat plant matter such as nectar, fruits and sap. Also even though they don\u2019t consume plants, that doesn\u2019t mean that they can\u2019t harm them. Some ants chew on parts of plants while some may also damage plants through their activities such as tunneling and tending for honeydew producing pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With that, ants may sometimes become pests themselves and negatively affect plants. Therefore, it\u2019s important to keep their population in check where they can provide plants a number of benefits and not compromise plant health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No, ants do not eat plants. Despite being opportunistic eaters that feed on a variety of food sources, ants don\u2019t eat and consume grown plants. They do however, feed on plant material such as fruit, nectar, sap, and seeds. In this article we\u2019ll learn more about ants and plants as we learn more about whether&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3708,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3041\/revisions\/3708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}