Ants are some of the most successful and widespread organisms on Earth, largely due to their highly organized and opportunistic feeding strategies. What an ant “likes the most” is not an individual taste preference, but a collective decision driven by the immediate biological needs of the colony. Their diet is incredibly diverse, ranging from scavenged scraps to complex, cultivated resources. The food source they prioritize at any given moment is the one that best supports the growth and maintenance of their social structure and population.
The Core Nutritional Priorities
The dietary choices of an ant colony are strictly divided between two major macronutrient groups, each fulfilling a specific role for different members of the nest. Adult worker ants primarily require simple sugars, which are quickly converted into the energy necessary to power activities like foraging and nest construction. These carbohydrates are typically sourced from nectar, fruit juices, or sugary excretions found in the environment.
Protein is reserved for the growth and reproduction of the colony. The queen needs protein to produce eggs, and developing larvae require it for rapid growth and development. Worker ants cannot effectively digest solid food due to filtering mouthparts, meaning protein must be delivered as a liquid or processed by the larvae. Larvae are uniquely equipped to process solid protein, such as insect parts, by excreting digestive enzymes to liquefy the food for the colony to consume.
Complex and Cultivated Food Sources
Beyond simple scavenging, many ant species have developed sophisticated methods to secure consistent supplies of their preferred foods, engaging in behaviors that resemble farming. One of the most common examples is the cultivation of sap-sucking insects, such as aphids, in a mutualistic relationship called trophobiosis. The ants protect these “herds” from predators and parasites in exchange for honeydew, a sugar-rich droplet which is the excess sap the aphids excrete.
Leafcutter ants, prominent in the Americas, exhibit an even more complex form of agriculture by growing their own food source. They do not consume the leaves they cut and carry; instead, the plant material serves as a substrate to cultivate a specific fungus, Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. The ants feed exclusively on specialized nutrient-rich growths produced by this fungus, which acts as an external digestive system to break down the plant cellulose. Harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex species) focus on collecting seeds rich in starches and proteins. These seeds are stored in specialized chambers and chewed into a paste, sometimes called “ant bread,” for consumption by the colony.
Factors That Influence Food Selection
The colony’s dietary preference is not static but shifts dynamically based on its life cycle and environmental conditions. During the spring and early summer, when the queen is laying many eggs and the colony is focused on raising a large generation of larvae, the demand for protein is at its peak. Foragers are then strongly attracted to protein-rich sources like dead insects or meat scraps.
As the season progresses and the colony reaches a larger, stable size, the focus shifts to maintaining the massive adult worker population. This maintenance requires a greater volume of carbohydrates to fuel the day-to-day work, leading to a strong preference for sugary foods during the late summer and fall. Environmental factors like drought or high temperatures can also influence food selection, as the availability of natural honeydew or prey changes, forcing the ants to become more flexible in their foraging.
Applying Diet Knowledge for Ant Control
Understanding the dual-nutrient needs of an ant colony is the basis for effective control strategies. Since the goal of baiting is to eliminate the entire nest, including the queen and the protein-hungry larvae, the bait must be slow-acting and appealing enough to be carried back to the nest. Fast-acting poisons only kill the foraging workers, which are quickly replaced by the colony.
Successful baiting often requires using both a carbohydrate-based bait and a protein-based bait, or a combination formulation, to ensure the colony is supplied with the nutrient it is currently demanding. Placing the bait directly along active foraging trails ensures that the workers quickly find the toxicant. It is also important to remove all competing food sources, such as sugary spills or exposed pet food, to ensure the ants are forced to accept the bait as their most viable option.