Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, or the western harvester ant, is a species of ant that inhabits the deserts and arid grasslands of the American West and Canada at or below 6,300 feet (1,900 m). Like other harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex, it is so called because of its habit of collecting edible seeds and other food items. The specific epithet "occidentalis", meaning "of the west", refers to the fact that it is characteristic of the interior of the Western United States; its mounds of gravel, surrounded by areas denuded of plant life, are a conspicuous feature of rangeland. When numerous, they may cause such loss of grazing plants and seeds, as to constitute both a severe ecological and economic burden. They have a painful and venomous sting.
Mature colonies consist of up to 20,000 workers and one queen. A queen can live up to 30 years, and many colonies survive for 20 years. A colony inhabits a nest that is up to 5 metres (16 ft) deep. The queen stays at the bottom of the nest, and workers usually relocate themselves and brood within the nest, capturing safe levels of heat. A colony's nest is topped by an irregularly conical nest mound that can be more than 89 centimetres... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Harvester Ant sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 110th most-seen of the 143 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–April, August–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Harvester Ant in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–July, October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Harvester Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Western Harvester Ant sightings, Grand Canyon National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 30%) and Zion National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Western Harvester Ant that you can see in Grand Canyon National Park (family Formicidae, Ants) are Liometopum luctuosum (about 10%) and Bicolored Carpenter Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Harvester Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Grand Canyon National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
