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Mon, Feb 14, 11 at 17:24
| I have raised beds with good soil that had a lot of earthworms. Last year, I saw tiny yellow ants in the soil and no earthworms left. Did the ants eat the worms? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| No. Likely the worms were deeper in the soil. What time of year was it that they were "missing?" |
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| I have seen ants hauling the carcasses of dead earthworms around but have not seen any ants going after live earthworms. Earthworms come and go for many reasons and may or may not be present at any time for any number of these reasons. The time of year, the amount of moisture in the soil, maybe even an earthworm convention some where else. Possibly for some reason the earthworms just were not where you were digging at the time. |
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| Ants prefer dry soil, earthworms require damp soil - how moist was your soil? |
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- Posted by fran_always z6 PA (My Page) on Wed, Feb 16, 11 at 17:07
| Thanks for all the replies. I noticed the absence of worms last year during the growing season. But it was a dry year, so maybe the soil was dry. This soil used to have a lot of worms and no ants. The ants are tiny and yellowish. I read that ants also aerate the soil, but I was afraid they attacked the worms. There is a lot of compost in the soil, so worms should be happy. I'll try to bring some back and se what happens. |
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