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where all of the legs attach. If its thorax has two lumps, you have
a field ant. If it has one big hump, you’re holding a carpenter ant.
What a way to impress your friends!
Photo Gallery - Meet our three field ant species
Field ants have large eyes because they usually move around
during the day and rely on sight more than some other ant
species. They use those big eyes to help them see landmarks as
they scurry to and from food. Like many ant species, field ants
love tending aphids and scale insects for their sugary emissions,
but they also help disperse plants by toting seeds around the
forest, snacking on the husks and discarding the rest. They enjoy
wolfing down other insects whenever they get the chance.
This foraging Formica incerta is a beautiful deep red. You may see her
visiting your urban garden. - © Alex Wild
Nice Outfit, Mr. Beetle
Because field ants prefer to eat soft-bodied insects like
caterpillars and beetle larvae, their predatory tendencies help
keep our trees happy. One of the United States’ most dangerous
forest pests is the gypsy moth. Silk moths with huge appetites,
gypsy moths have gobbled up more than 80 million acres of our
Northeastern forests in the last 40 years. When they scarf down
all the leaves in the forest, trees die, causing millions of dollars’
worth of damage. Fortunately, field ants love those plump little
leaf munchers. They help reduce the damage and spread of
gypsy moths by eating every caterpillar they can find.
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