The seeds

In one of the pots on the balcony an unknown grass had grown, it had some nice spikes and I thought it was an opportunity to put some very fresh seeds to my ants.

I started shelling a spike and I put its seeds to the ants, some whole and some crushed. They seemed to like them because they put all the seeds in the nest.

Shelling the grass spike

The next day when I lifted the plastic cover of the anthill, being very careful not to produce vibrations, several ants scared out of the castle-nest with their larvae in their mouths. But what surprised me the most was seeing Lola Cleopatra, the queen, run off.

The big scare, Lola Clopatra leaves the nest!

Sometimes I had hit the anthill hard by mistake, but never had the queen been so scared to run away.

Would the seeds have a stimulating effect?

The day after seeing the nervous ants come out of the castle-nest, I observed in the area of the cemetery the seeds that I had put to the ants two days ago. Apparently almost all the seeds were present, but they were placed in two chambers adjoining the one chosen for the cemetery (chamber 2). There were no seeds in the graveyard chamber. They haven't moved those seeds to this day.

The dangerous seeds well away from the nest

In the following drawing I have put what I interpret as the preferences of my ants for the seeds that I have put them so far, I am based on the observation of what they like to store in the castle-nest.

Ranking de preferencias de semillas

I put the photo of the unknown grass plant in case someone knows it.

Unknown graminea on the balcony of the house