Are Ants Invading your Summertime Picnic? Not in Our Neck of the Woods
If sprinkles of pepper are the only black specks you care to find in your potato salad, and if the only thing you want in your pants is you, then having a swarm of ants visit your outdoor feast is out of the question. During our recent multi-day foray afield, ants were just a cupcake’s throw away, but none dared to scurry out from their hiding place to invade our spread. Fortunately for us, the local anteater was on duty, snatching them up whenever they came into sight—and sometimes before.
We’re all familiar with the Pileated Woodpecker, the prehistoric-looking, pterodactyl-like denizen of the forest whose appearance alone reminds us that birds are the surviving dinosaurs.And we’re all aware of the Pileated Woodpecker’s abilities to search out stressed, weakened, and dying trees where it not only chisels out cavities for roosting and nesting, but also finds a large portion of its diet.Pileated Woodpeckers don’t eat wood, but spend much of their time searching out infestations of the insects and insect larvae that are in the process of reducing the cellulosic fibers and other components of dead and dying trees into matter that will be recycled into growth medium and nutrients for surviving plants of the forest.That search may involve excavations deep into the rotting wood of the tree. But many times, the target of the Pileated Woodpecker’s hunt is right among the bark……where the prey can be snatched up with its probing tongue.Carpenter ants (Camponotus species) don’t eat wood, but instead excavate extensive nests called galleries in damp and rotting timber. The Pileated Woodpecker’s long anteater-like tongue is an adaptation for feeding on these insects. Carpenter ants often make up a majority of a Pileated Woodpecker’s diet, particularly during the warmer months of the year. They are one of the first foods young woodpeckers can easily locate and consume on their own. During the colder months, when ants can be harder to find, Pileated Woodpeckers excavate overwintering beetle grubs and other larvae while also seeking out energy-replenishing berries including Poison Ivy, wild grape, and bittersweet.A Pileated Woodpecker alert for the movement of carpenter ants among the folds of bark on this infested pine tree.The ant-eating Pileated Woodpecker in action, keeping wandering ants at bay so that the only thing covering the ground during your buffet is a picnic blanket.Your local Pileated Woodpecker, he’s more than just a pretty face.
