Leafcutter Ant (Alate)
Acromyrmex octospinosus
Winged reproductive leafcutter ants emerge from mature colonies in tropical forest and cultivated landscapes. During suitable warm, humid weather, they take part in mating flights before shedding their wings or dying soon afterward. New queens carry a small pellet of their colony's cultivated fungus to begin a new garden after nesting underground. Alates may take sugary plant fluids when feeding, but much of their flight activity is supported by stored reserves.
- Type
- Wing
- Conservation status
- NE
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Leafcutter Ant (Alate)