Taxonomic identity of "hallucinogenic" harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex californicus) confirmed

The use of California harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex californicus) for visionary and therapeutic ends was an important but poorly-documented tradition in native south-central California. In this brief report, a confirmation of the taxonomic identity of the red ant species used in California is presented, and the descriptive record of its use is supplemented with additional ethnographic accounts. This taxonomic identification of this species is of particular importance, as visionary red ant ingestion provides the only well-documented case of the widespread use of an insect as an hallucinogenic agent.