Red harvester ant is a 3-star species card from the Steam Age. Red harvester ants clear a bare disc of ground around their nest and store seeds inside.
Bonus by grade
| Grade | Copies needed | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 0 | +10% Food cap |
| Uncommon | 2 | +18% Food cap |
| Rare | 5 | +30% Food cap |
| Epic | 10 | +45% Food cap |
| Legendary | 20 | +70% Food cap |
Duplicates raise the grade: Uncommon at 2, Rare at 5, Epic at 10, Legendary at 20.
Codex
- Common: Pogonomyrmex barbatus lives in deserts and grasslands of the south-western USA and Mexico.
- Uncommon: Colonies clear the plants from a circle around the nest.
- Rare: Foragers collect seeds and store them underground.
- Epic: A colony can live for decades with one queen.
- Legendary: Its sting is very painful.
Field notes are reviewed regularly. Spot something wrong? Tell us.
Field guide
| Size | Workers about 6–13 mm; queens are the largest |
| Colony | Grows to about 10,000 workers by about age 5 |
| Queens | One queen per colony |
| Nest | Bare, gravelly mound or disc up to about 1.8 m across |
| Diet | Mostly seeds, plus dead insects |
| Defence | Painful sting, but rarely used |
| Active | Day, mainly mornings; stops by about 11 am on hot summer days |
| Lifespan | Colonies live about 20–30 years |
| Where it lives | South-western USA (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and nearby) and northern Mexico |
Did you know?
- A colony takes about five years to grow to full size.
- Nests reach about 1 m deep, with escape tunnels to 2 m or more.
- Summer rains trigger the mating flights, and the males die soon after.
Sources: bugguide.net, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov