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 - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Worker Ants

Images of the female non-reproductive caste.

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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

In a remnant of Brazil's once-great Atlantic coastal rainforest, an Acromyrmex disciger leafcutter ant carries a leaf back to her nest. The forest where these ants live has been 95% destroyed by human activities.

Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

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

Acromyrmex coronatus, cutting through a leaf.

Panamá

Acromyrmex echinatior

Panama; Laboratory colony at the University of Wisconsin at Madison

The short inner teeth on the mandibles of this Acanthognathus ocellatus worker are for performing the delicate tasks within the nest, as the expansive trap-jaws themselves are not well-suited for domestic work.

Venezuela

Amblyopone australis

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Aphaenogaster cockerelli, one of the most conspicuous harvester ants of American southwest, carries a mesquite seed back to her nest.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

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

Canon EOS 20D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3504x2336 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: ant tropical ants nature insect insects leafcutter biology hymenoptera ecology neotropical entomology formicidae mutualism myrmicinae attini acromyrmex attine leafcutting akeke

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Worker Ants

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