# Ant Eaters
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 22, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723 "2016-11-22T05:01:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/1 "2016-11-22T05:01:32Z")
Do the ant eaters perform any valuable services to the environment by tearing up termite mounds and ant nests? Does it help the prey in someway? Does it help the environment?
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/2 "2016-11-22T08:10:53Z")
Well, I think they are cute. :eek:
If there is a nitch, nature makes a filler for it. š
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/3 "2016-11-22T09:57:37Z")
It helps the ant-eatersā¦
Evolution doesnāt have a purpose. Ant-eaters donāt have to be useful to the ants/termites, the environment, or anything else. They just have to get enough food to survive to make more ant-eaters, and not do so much damage that they wreck their own niche.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/4 "2016-11-22T10:26:27Z")
Are you gathering intelligence for the coming anteater-honeybadger war?
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/5 "2016-11-22T11:23:59Z")
Do they cause the insects to disperse quicker than normal and set up new homes?
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### Author:  [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/6 "2016-11-22T11:40:05Z")
I canāt speculate on evolutionary niches, but I do know that anteaters are the cheapest doppel you can get.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/7 "2016-11-22T13:19:52Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#):
>
> Do they cause the insects to disperse quicker than normal and set up new homes?
Thatās not how ant colonies work.
They center around the queen. The queen (aside from a few nomadic species like army ants) does not relocate. If the queen is killed the remaining workers might amble about for awhile but the colony is done.
New ant colonies are created when a fertile female goes on a mating flight, mates, lands, and sets up shop.
Antenter ādispersalsā just disrupt an existing colony, which does not relocate. The colony may or may not recover after being disturbed.
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### Author:  [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/8 "2016-11-22T14:09:31Z")
There might be some fringe benefits to other predatory bugs/birds/etc, who would take advantage of a disturbed colony to grab a quick snack. (Kind of like African honey guide birds do, with bees?)
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/9 "2016-11-22T14:25:31Z")
āValuable serviceā from which perspective? Human? Vermilinguid? Formic? Geological? Cosmic? Ecclesiastic?
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### Author:  [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/10 "2016-11-22T15:22:37Z")
> [@jtur88](#):
>
> āValuable serviceā from which perspective? Human? Vermilinguid? Formic? Geological? Cosmic? Ecclesiastic?
Nothing really specific. If the anteater never existed would it had had any impact on the way itās environment developed. I know they are very widespread throughout the rain forests and savannas.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ant-eaters/772723/11 "2016-11-22T16:16:03Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#):
>
> Nothing really specific. If the anteater never existed would it had had any impact on the way itās environment developed. I know they are very widespread throughout the rain forests and savannas.
There are several animals known as Anteaters, and plenty of other animals that eat ants also. Provide an abundant food source like ants and something will evolve to take advantage of that. I donāt know how effective any of those anteaters are at changing the ant population, there are zillions of ants in tropical regions, and they eat everything that grows while itās alive or after itās dead.