About Pogonomyrmex californicus (Buckley, 1867)
Pogonomyrmex californicus, commonly called the California harvester ant, is a species of ant belonging to the subfamily Myrmicinae. This species is native to North America, occurring in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is the ant species used in Uncle Milton's Ant Farm. Its confirmed range within the United States covers Texas and Utah; in Mexico, it is found in the states of Baja California, Sonora, and Chihuahua. The Chumash people of California historically sometimes used this species as an entheogen (hallucinogen) to initiate boys into manhood. Consuming these ants was considered a safer way to induce visions than the more common traditional method, which involved drinking a brew made from the deliriant herb Datura wrightii. The ants were swallowed alive along with eagle down, and the venom from the ants' stings to the boys' mouths and throats caused hallucinations. An effective dose was typically around 250 ants.
