Atta

is the most conspicuous leaf-cutting ant of the new world tropics and subtropics. These large, spiny insects are farmers- they use freshly cut vegetation to cultivate a fungus in subterranean gardens. Colonies are among the most complex insect societies known: nests can persist for decades and contain over a million individuals.

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Major and minor workers of Atta cephalotes demonstrating the size extremes among worker ants in a single leafcutter ant colony.

Captive colony at the University of Illinois

Atta cephalotes in the fungus garden. Here, the fungus is visible as a white mold growing across the cut leaves that the ants have fed to it.

Captive colony at the California Academy of Sciences

Atta cephalotes. Ants slice through leaves using a repeated scissoring motion, where the leading mandible (on the right) is anchored into the leaf and pulls the trailing mandible to make the cut.

Captive colony at the University of Texas

Atta cephalotes soldier.

Captive colony at the University of Illinois.

A mature leafcutter colony contains more than a million individual ants and can defoliate an entire tree overnight. Here a busy trail of Atta cephalotes carries cut vegetation back to the nest. Note the small ants riding atop the leaves- these stand guard against parasitic Phorid flies attempting to attack the preoccupied leaf-carriers.

Tena, Ecuador

A busy highway of Atta cephalotes leafcutter ants carrying their bounty back to the nest.

Gamboa, Panama

Atta cephalotes. A small leafcutter worker atop a leaf guards her sister against attacks by parasitic flies. Ants carrying leaves cannot use their mandibles for defense, so they carry hitchhikers to ward off the parasites.

Gamboa, Panama

Atta cephalotes leafcutter ants.

Maquipucuna reserve, Pichincha, Ecuador

Soldier and worker ants in the fungus garden of an Atta cephalotes colony.

Captive colony at the California Academy of Sciences

Major and minor workers of Atta cephalotes demonstrating the size extremes among worker ants in a single leafcutter ant colony.

Captive colony at the University of Illinois

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Atta

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