Red Harvester Ant

These ants are foragers, collecting seeds and sometimes dead insects for food. Nests are usually in an open area, with no vegetations within a 3 to 6 foot circle around the entrance. They do not invade homes or buildings. But worker ants can bite and their bite can be fairly painful, sometimes causing a serious medical reaction in certain people. They are the primary food source of the horned lizard of the Southwest and some believe that a decline in this species' population may have contributed to the horned lizard disappearing from many of its former habitats.