leaf-cutter ant
Tiny jungle harvester
Leaf-cutter ants are tropical ants that cut pieces from leaves and carry them back to their colonies—not to eat directly, but to cultivate fungus gardens that feed the colony.
The sight of a line of ants marching with leaf fragments held overhead like green sails is distinctive.
These ants form some of the largest and most complex insect societies.
Fungal vegetative body
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- cultivationFostering growth through care
- gardenersPeople who tend plots
- waste managementRefuse collection and disposal
Dependent territorial settlement
- mandibleLower facial bone
- antennaBroadcast signal receiver
- workerPerson who toils
- soldierArmed forces member
queen · larvae · caste · pheromone · minima · media · arthropod · invertebrate
Two-way biological benefit
- interdependenceReciprocal reliance between entities
- symbiontsOrganisms in close association
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
- coevolutionReciprocal adaptation between interacting species
microorganisms · antibiotic · biotic · obligate · specialized
Loss of foliage
- herbivorePlant-only consumer
- soil fertilityEarth's crop-growing potential
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
- biodiversityRange of life forms
vegetation · canopy · neotropical · habitat · food web · ecological impact · seed dispersal
mycelia
Fungal vegetative body
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- cultivationFostering growth through care
- gardenersPeople who tend plots
waste management · decomposition · chambers · monoculture · herbivory
colony
Dependent territorial settlement
soldier · queen · larvae · caste · pheromone · minima · media · arthropod · invertebrate · exoskeleton
mutualism
Two-way biological benefit
- interdependenceReciprocal reliance between entities
- symbiontsOrganisms in close association
- cooperationJoint action toward shared aims
coevolution · microorganisms · antibiotic · biotic · obligate · specialized
defoliation
Loss of foliage
- herbivorePlant-only consumer
- soil fertilityEarth's crop-growing potential
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
biodiversity · vegetation · canopy · neotropical · habitat · food web · ecological impact · seed dispersal
- insectsant, ants, bee, bees, butterfly
- antsfire ant, ant colony, carpenter ant, ant colonies, harvester ant
- rainforest wildlifejaguar, tapir, toucan, sloth, capybara
- South American animalsjaguar, capybara, llama, alpaca, piranha
- Central American Wildlifejaguar, quetzal, howler monkey, tapir, scarlet macaw
- leafcutter antsleafcutter ant, leafcutter ants, atta, worker caste, queen
leaf-cutter antarmy ant
Nomadic predatory insect colony
driver ant · termite · decomposer · detritivore · fire ant
leaf, leaves, leafy, leafed, leaflet, leaflets, cutter, cutters, cutting