The ants' great appetite

The efficient communication of wood ants makes them formidable hunters. They are not picky and eat a variety of insects, including winter moth larvae, which are pests in apple orchards.

Here you can read more about the ability of ants to fight pests.

Wood ants fight winter moth larvae in apple orchard

This 2018 article examined the effect of wood ants on the number of winter moth larvae in an organic apple orchard. There were significantly fewer larvae when the wood ants were present.

Wood ants protect trees from bark beetles

This 2021 article examined how wood ants can be used to protect forests from bark beetle attacks. It found that the proportion of bark beetle-infested trees was significantly reduced when the number of forest ant colonies increased.

The ants' great appetite makes them ideal pest control agents

This 2015 review summarises the capabilities of ants to control pests in agriculture. It looks not only at wood ants, but also at tropical ants such as weaver ants, which are already used to protect crops in countries such as Thailand.