Ants
Ants feed on fungi, seeds, sweets, scraps, other insects and sometimes other ants. Compost provides some of these foods and it also provides shelter for nests and hills. Ants may benefit the compost heap by moving minerals especially phosphorus and potassium around by bringing fungi and other organisms into their nests. The presence of ants is an indication of dry bedding. Moisten the bedding a bit and most ants will find another place to live. If your bin has legs, place the legs in a can of water that has had a drop of dish soap placed in it to reduce the surface tension of the water so the ants can’t walk across the water.
Also see Fire Ant
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Further Reading
These links will open a new window and take you to different sites:
Ant Meals
http://ant.edb.miyakyo-u.ac.jp/INTRODUCTION/Gakken79E/Page_04.html
Images of Ants of North America
http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/resources/ant/database.html
Scientific Study of Ants
http://www.myrmecology.org/
Ant Cam - Live Ant Colony
http://www.antcam.com/antcam/antcamg2.html
Fire Ant Images at Texas A&M University
http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/
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