Unlike modern authors, Homer is not quick to reveal his personal beliefs; rather, they come about subtly, through the dialogue between two characters.
Harvester ant. Harvester ant is a common name for any of the species or genera of ants that collect seeds (called seed predation), or mushrooms as in the case of Euprenolepis procera, which are stored in the nest in communal chambers called granaries.
While the red harvester ants will feed on a variety of seeds as well as grasses and even dead insects they tend to prefer to keep their diet homogenous until no more of that food is available to the colony when they will begin to eat a different food staple.