Leafcutter Ant
Atta cephalotes
Leafcutter ant workers inhabit humid tropical forests from southern Mexico through Central and northern South America, where they maintain extensive underground nests. They cut pieces of fresh vegetation with powerful mandibles, but do not eat the leaves directly; the material feeds a cultivated fungus that sustains the colony. Workers travel along well-worn foraging trails and can carry leaf fragments many times their own body mass. Their underground fungus gardens are carefully tended and protected from contamination.
- Type
- Fang / Burrow
- Conservation status
- NE
Growth chain
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- Leafcutter Ant
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