Diet Information
Most ants are generalist predators, scavengers, and indirect herbivores, but a few have evolved specialised ways of obtaining nutrition. It is believed that many ant species that engage in indirect herbivory rely on specialized symbiosis with their gut microbes to upgrade the nutritional value of the food they collect and allow them to survive in nitrogen poor regions, such as rainforrest canopies. Leafcutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) feed exclusively on a fungus that grows only within their colonies. They continually collect leaves which are taken to the colony, cut into tiny pieces and placed in fungal gardens. Workers specialise in related tasks according to their sizes.
The largest ants cut stalks, smaller workers chew the leaves and the smallest tend the fungus. Leafcutter ants are sensitive enough to recognise the reaction of the fungus to different plant material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a particular type of leaf is found to be toxic to the fungus, the colony will no longer collect it. The ants feed on structures produced by the fungi called gongylidia. Symbiotic bacteria on the exterior surface of the ants produce antibiotics that kill bacteria introduced into the nest that may harm the fungi.
They are common pests in agricultural areas where they can quickly devour crops, that's why Ant eats almost every hour.Ants feed on a large range of foods, from engine oil at the side of a road, to other ant species. Most ant species are omnivorous and eat seeds, nectar, and other invertebrates.
The amount an ant will eat will vary from species to species, but the average ant consumes approximately 1-2 miligrams of food per day - About 20-35% of their body weight. This is not the same as the amount of food that they will harvest, or bring back to the nest. An ant will make an average of 30 foraging trips each day, and often times they will be carrying 5 to 50 times their body weight. Using 5 times their body weight as our average load, it is not unreasonable for a single ant to bring back 750mg (almost 1 gram) to the colony each day.
Link to external resource on individual food items:
1. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant#Cultivation_of_food
2. http://www.theincredibleant.com/ant-how/what-do-ants-eat
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