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.
Like many other species of ants the red harvester ant does not take likely to any intruder to their colony, whether this intruder is the foot of a human or another ant. Even if an intruding ant is another red harvester ant it will not be accepted in to the mound by the colony.