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.
Carpenter ant workers are polymorphic--which means workers are different sizes. Entomologists refer to larger workers as major workers and the smaller workers as minor workers. The minor workers are not baby ants--they just have different tasks in the colony.