Interactions with Plants
From seed foraging to plant removal. Pogos
interacting with the plant life around them, in North America.
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Pogonomyrmex salinus
● NW of Mattawa [Grant Co], WA USA [el. 152 m / 500 ft] view location in Google Maps » ● 9/14/09 8:28AM 50% cloud, 23°C / 73°F
Only dried plant fragments remain on the ground, as these two Pogonomyrmex salinus workers forage near their nest in central Washington state. Although foraging activity is much higher in spring, and earlier in the summer, we do see these ants collecting some seeds and other plant matter (and scavenging dead insects) even at this time of year. It is more common in very late summer/autumn, however, to see plant material being brought out of the nest [see next image], and dumped in the midden. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
As mentioned elsewhere on this site, it appears that Pogonomyrmex salinus does not build a store of seeds for the winter. Nests excavated in winter (in central Oregon) revealed a lack of stored seeds. It was also observed that the ants huddle in groups within the subterranean chambers of the nest - where they remain dormant until temperatures start to increase. Apparently, at least in some cases, they do not consume food in any significant quantity, during the winter months.
·Willard, J.R. & H.H. Crowell. 1965. Biological Activities of the Harvester Ant, Pogonomyrmex owyheei, in Central Oregon. Journal of Economic Entomology Vol.58, No.3
pogopogonomyrmexpogonomyrmex salinusants interacting with plantsmacroharvester ants
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