For example, by disrupting native ant communities in
California, Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) reduce
prey availability for the horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum)
(Suarez et al. 2000). Mutualisms between invasive
ants and honeydew-secreting Hemiptera (Styrsky &
Eubanks 2007) may further amplify and diversify impacts
on vertebrates. Red imported fire ants derive nearly half
of their energy supply from honeydew (Helms & Vinson
2002), and this resource may fuel forager activity sufficient
to disrupt ground-nesting birds (Allen et al. 2004).