#Cutter leaf ant queens for sale us free#

Smaller ants work as gardeners, with head widths of 0.7-1.0 mm.

This is usually done in an assembly line leading back to the fungus garden. Ants with a head size of 1.6-5.0 mm work as foragers, cutting vegetation, and carrying it back to the nest site. Leaf Cutter Ants subscribe to a caste system, where ants carry out specific jobs based on the size of their head.

#Cutter leaf ant queens for sale us free#

It is thought that minim workers inspect and clean leaf fragments, so they are free of any harmful bacteria or fungi. Minim ants also perform another job while riding on the leaf fragment. These minim workers ride on the leaf fragments, and defend the leaf carriers from attack by parasitic phorid flies, that try to lay eggs on the leaf carriers' bodies. When a leaf carrying ant is ready to take a leaf fragment back to the nest, she will stridulate, attracting a minim worker to join her on the journey home. The more desirable the food source, the more ants tend to stridulate. Tender leaves, higher in sugar, are usually deemed the most desirable, as opposed to tough, thick leaves. When an ant finds a high quality food source, they summon other nearby ants to join them by stridulating, or rubbing their body parts together to make a vibrating sound. However, we do know that the deposition and potency of these chemicals depends on both the quality of food and the need of the colony's fungus for new vegetation. Many chemical and behavioral details of the ants' poison gland are not well understood. Secondly these chemicals function as long-lasting orientation cues for the foraging trail. Firstly they serve as a recruitment signal, attracting other ants from their colony to join them. When a suitable food source is found, the ants will secrete chemicals from their poison gland sacs. Activity and Behavior Activity Patternĭuring the day, leaf cutter ants leave the nest to forage. The ants are also a valued source of protein for other forest animals. They provide crucial nutrient redistribution in the forest through their discarding of spent fungus and their removal of their own waste material. However, they help maintain ecosystem health by aerating soil. Ecological WebĪtta ants are often considered agricultural pests. Leaf cutter ants of Atta cephalotes exclusively feed on one type of fungus, Leucocoprineae. Atta ants will also invade agricultural areas that supplant their forest habitats. They are found in rainforest and deciduous forests as well as in open woodlands and scrub forests. They also have the ability to excrete antibacterial liquids, to protect the fungus from infection. Leaf Cutter Ants have heads of various sizes, allowing them to perform specialized jobs. Species SpecificsĪtta ants are unique because they culture fungus from cuttings of live plant material. Size varies by caste within each colony: the smallest are merely 0.7 mm wide (head size) and the largest up to 5 mm wide, with the foragers typically about 2.0-2.2 mm wide. In addition to the standard ant anatomy, the back of the thorax has three pairs of teeth, or spines which help them maneuver material, such as leaf fragments, on their backs.