Re: Why do ants like bacon grease better than sugar?

Dear Michael,

Your science project on ants sounds very interesting. One of the many reasons that ants are so interesting is the fact that there are so many different kinds of them. Different species of ant act differently.

Some ants eat only plants or fungus. Animals that only eat plants are called herbivores. One example of an herbivore ant is the Leaf Cutter Ant. Those ants would probably not spend much time around your bacon grease.

Some ants specialize on eating meat. Animals that only eat meat are called carnivores. One example of a carnivore ant is the Army Ant. These ants would spend nearly all of their time around your bacon grease, and would probably ignore your sugar. (The meat that ants usually eat is the meat inside other insects. I have watched groups of tiny ants attack and kill grasshoppers that were much larger!)

Still other ants will eat either meat or plants, depending on what is around. An animal that will eat both plants and animals is called an omnivore. An example of an omnivore ant is the Red Imported Fire Ant. Omnivore ants will usually prefer to eat meat if it is around. This is because meat has much more energy stored in it than a similar amount of plant material. If your experiment is on an omnivore ant, that this may be the reason that they spend more time around the bacon grease than the sugar.

I hope this has helped you with your project. If you need anything else, please write us again!

Sincerely yours,

John Carlson
MAD Entomologist