Laura Simpson, age 10 of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, for her question:

What do ants eat?

There are thousands of different ants in this world, and each species prefers its own special menu. Some types enjoy crumbs from our picnic sandwiches, others scurry around searching for sugary treats. A few types eat scraps of meat and others go hunting for live meat. Harvester ants gather cereal grains and weed seeds. These they tote to their nests to feed the family and the surplus is stored for the winter season. Many ants gather sweet juices from the flowers.

Some ants tend mini dairy cattle. Actually their mini cows are aphid insects and the ants lick sweet syrup from their bodies. Honey ants lick sweet honeydew from the bodies of leafhoppers and treehoppera Some ants grow their own vegetables. They feed on mini gardens of tiny fungus plants. Other types feed on leaves or on almost anything else you can mention. Some ants sample mixed foods but, as a rule, each type sticks to her own diet.