A Desert Leafcutter queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) tends to larvae in an incipient fungus garden. Tucson, Arizona, USA - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography - Insect Pictures

Farming Ants: Leafcutters and Fungus Growers

Hundreds of ant species live as farmers in the warmer regions of North and South America. These insects- a single evolutionary radiation- cultivate an edible fungus fed with bits of vegetative debris, or in the case of the leafcutter ants, with live vegetation.

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The birth of an ant-fungus garden, with newly-laid ant eggs and the early stages of fungal growth. Leaf-cutting ant colonies subsist entirely on their cultivated fungus. (Acromyrmex versicolor)

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A young leafcutter ant queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) with her eggs and incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Acromyrmex versicolor foundress queens in an incipient fungus garden. This species is normally polygynous during the colony founding stage, but reverts to single-queen colonies after the first workers emerge.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A Desert Leafcutter queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) tends to larvae in an incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Acromyrmex coronatus, cutting through a leaf.

Panamá

Acromyrmex lundii finishes a cut.

Correa, Santa Fe, Argentina

An Acromyrmex balzani worker carries a grass stem back to her nest. Leafcutter species tend to specialize on either broadleaf plants or grasses.

Entre Rios, Argentina

Acromyrmex sp. nr. crassispinus cutting into an orange peel. Citrus is a favorite target for leafcutters, perhaps because the plants are not native to the Americas and have not yet evolved defenses against the voracious ants.

Lagunas de Yala, Jujuy, Argentina

Acromyrmex striatus

Santiago del Estero, Argentina

A Desert Leafcutter queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) tends to larvae in an incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A Desert Leafcutter queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) tends to larvae in an incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A Desert Leafcutter queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) tends to larvae in an incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Canon EOS 20D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3504x2336 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: queen fungi nest fungus insect insects evolution larvae versicolor ecology brood entomology formicidae mutualism myrmicinae attini acromyrmex

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all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013

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