Logo1

 

Info about Ants

* Home
* Species of Ants
* Ant FAQ’s
* Science Projects
* The Ant City
* Make an Ant Farm
* The Ant Blog
* Queen Ants
* History of Ant Farms
* Get Rid of Ants

  Buy Live Ants!!

Categories

* Ant Farm
* Ant Farms Supplies
* Buy Live Ants
* Ant DvD’s & Movies
* Other Animal Kits
* Ant Books
* Ant Toys

 

We have other Exotic
 Pets too! Venis Flytrap, Praying Mantis?
plant

Previous

Main Species Page

db_A_Close_View_of_Leaf-Cutter_Ants_Toting_Leaf_Pieces_to_Their_Nest2

Leaf Cutter Ants

Next

Member of the Arthropoda Myrmicinae family. Leafcutter ants are social insects found in warmer regions of Central and South America. These unique ants have evolved an advanced agricultural system based on ant-fungus mutualism. They feed on a specialized fungus that grows only in the underground chambers of the ants' nest.

Different species of leafcutter ants use different species of fungus, but all of the fungi the ants use are members of the Lepiotaceae family. The ants actively cultivate their fungus, feeding it with freshly-cut plant material and maintaining it free from pests and molds. This symbiotic relationship is further augmented by another symbiotic partner, a bacterium that grows on the ants and secretes chemicals, or secondary metabolites, which protect the fungus from molds that would feed on the fungus - essentially the ants use portable antimicrobials. When the ants happen to bring back toxic leaves, the fungus secretes a chemical that warns the ant not to collect any more of that type of leaf

Partner Sites
totallychihuahuas.com
everythingnow.net
chihuahuamama.com

Company Info
About Us
Contact Us
Articles
The Ant Blog

Customer Service
FAQ
Order Tracking
 

Ant Diag

 

 

 


Famous Quotes about Ants:
“The more ants are studied the more they reveal capabilities that exceed their small size.”
-Whit Gibbons

“Look to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. . . . She prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest”
Proverbs 6:6
-King Solomon

“It's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?”
-Thoreau

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he’s a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
-Aesop’s Fables