Tiny insects have many enemies in the animal kingdom. Of those who eat ants, anteaters are best known to people. But even the bear does not mind eating arthropods and their larvae. Workers got hold of stingers and sting to protect themselves from attackers. But still, anthills are regularly destroyed by various animals.
Who eats ants in the middle lane
The most important anteater in our area is clubfoot. The beast quietly destroys anthill and licks from shaggy paws hordes of goose bumps and their larvae. It is not in vain that the saying goes that people don’t feed an ant with a bear.
Moles and shrews, bumping into ant passages, destroy small workers. But insects for them are not the main source of food. For animals, arthropods serve as a light snack.
On a note!
Rodents living in the forest can also enjoy a running ant, but they do not destroy the anthills, because they are afraid of numerous ant bites.
The frog eats ants along with other insects. She catches the hard worker with a sticky tongue and swallows it quickly.
In gardens and in the forest birds feed on ants:
- Sparrows
- wrens;
- hazel grouse;
- wagtails;
- bluethroats.
Woodpeckers are noble "anteaters." They can smell the insects hidden in the bark. With its feathers, the bird sweeps the "orderlies of the forest" and begins to quickly eat them.
Who eats ants in the tropics
The insects living here have developed more serious defenses. Their stings contain poison, and the stings tightly cling to the skin of the enemy. But even here the enemies of ants live.
The best known anteater. He belongs to a large family of anteaters. Each species belonging to this family eats working arthropods:
- a giant anteater destroys terrestrial anthills;
- the dwarf hunts mostly termites;
- a four-legged anteater can get goosebumps on the ground and on the tree.
The body structure of these animals is adapted to exterminate ants. Wide legs rake the nest, tough coat protects against bites, and a sticky tongue helps catch a lot of insects.
Interesting!
The anteater has poor eyesight. He is looking for insects by smell.
In the tropics, not only anteaters eat animal ant. Another creature preys on them:
- armadillos;
- wryneck;
- antbird;
- woodpecker.
A woodpecker living in the Himalayas catches ants with the help of a sticky tail, the feathers of which are covered with their heads. The plumage of the bird itself is covered in fetid tar.
The ants are a bird that cannot fly. She deftly runs on the ground and preys on insects crawling on the ground.
There is even a fish - anteater, whose name is the sprinkler. It knocks the prey from the leaves with a short and sharp stream of water.
Although there are enough different hunters in nature, ants continue to be the most common on the globe. All this thanks lifestyle, where each individual works for the benefit of the whole family.
