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.
The queen red harvester ant is the source of the worker ants within her colony and throughout her lifetime she will continue to produce worker ants. A queen red harvester ant can live anywhere from one year up until approximately twenty years, all the while producing worker ants to populate her colony.