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BLACK BEAR DIET
Ant Pupae/Brood
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June, July, August
Late Spring to Late Summer
An important food from late spring until mid to late summer. Black bears have long sticky tongues for probing into ant colonies. Bears find ant brood by keying in on pheromones and other chemicals(formic acid) ants use for communication and defense(this is probably why bears sometimes bite into insulated snowmobile seats, hot tub covers and refrigerator walls, which all produce formic acid when the formaldehyde in the insulation breaks down). They usually avoid anthills due to soil that gets mixed with the ant brood and readily tear into logs or flip over rocks. If there is sign of bears eating from anthills, that is a sign of scarce food.
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