How many ants are in a leaf cutter colony?
Leafcutter ant colonies can house up to 10 million ants, not including the space needed for all their fungus gardens, nurseries, trash chambers, and other necessities.
What do leaf cutter ants grow in their colonies?
Farming. Leafcutter ants use leaves as their fertilizer to grow their crop: fungus. They cultivate their fungal gardens by providing them with freshly cut leaves, protecting them from pests and molds, and clearing them of decayed material and garbage. In return, the fungus acts as a food source for the ants’ larvae.
What is the symbiotic relationship between leaf cutter ants and fungus?
A good example of a symbiotic relationship (Mutualism) is that between leaf cutting ants and fungus within their fungus gardens. The ants cultivate the fungus by cutting leaves and carrying these leaf fragments to the fungus garden. The fungus then grows on the plant material.
What fungus do leaf cutter ants grow?
Fungus. Meet the leaf-cutter ant. These ants carve out pieces of leaves and carry them back home (Figure 1). But the ants don’t eat the leaves themselves—they feed it to Lepiotaceae fungus they cultivate in their nests.
How big is a leaf cutter ant?
On average, a minima is 2 mm long, a media worker is 10 mm long, and the largest soldier can reach 20 mm in length. Reproductive males are even bigger, but the queens take the crown at 30 to 40 mm from head to wing tips.
How much can leaf cutter ants carry?
A leaf-cutter ant can carry leaf fragments that are 20 times their own body weight. Leaf-cutter ants build huge nests—up to 50 feet across and 16 feet deep.
Do leaf cutter ants fly?
Unlike the workers, the breeders have wings, and, one fine day, the winged ants leave the nest to take part in a nuptial flight. Flying females mate with several males and collect sperm from each.
What makes a leafcutter ant colony effective?
On the face of it, a leafcutter ant’s nest is a perfect picture of harmonious relationships. It is sometimes so effective at invading the fungus that it can overwhelm the ant’s food source. This causes many ants to die and the remaining individuals to eventually abandon their normally well-tended gardens altogether.
What is the relationship between leaf cutter ants and leaves?
Leaf cutter ants are a great example of mutualism. Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship in which both partners benefit from the relationship. Leaf cutter ants cut various types of foliage into pieces. They then carry these cut leaves back to their colony where they grind up the plant matter.
How big is a leafcutter ant?
Are leaf cutter ants harmful?
In general, leaf cutter ants do not pose any danger to humans. They might bite if you threaten them near their nesting area or if they are disturbed during their food foraging. They don’t have the ability to sting and their bites are not dangerous.
How big does a leaf cutter ant colony get?
Leaf cutter ant colonies have been found with up to 10 million workers. Leaf cutter ant queens are typically 30mm length, they are dull brown, very chubby, and are monogyn (one queen per colony). These queens have been known to live for up to 15 years. They can lay up to 1000 eggs each day. Leaf cutter worker ants are typically 8-12mm.
Where do the leaf cutting ants come from?
On the soil surface leaf cutting ants have clearly defined foraging trails. Ants commonly travel 600 feet or more to reach a suitable plant. Once located, the plants are attacked in large numbers, with worker ants cutting leaves and carrying the fragments in their mouths (mandibles).
What kind of fungus does a leafcutter ant use?
The fungus cultivated by the adults is used to feed the ant larvae, and the adult ants feed on leaf sap. The fungus needs the ants to stay alive, and the larvae need the fungus to stay alive, so the mutualism is obligatory. The fungi used by the higher attine ants no longer produce spores.
How big does a Texas leaf cutting ant egg get?
The Texas leaf cutting ant queen rules the colony from her underground chambers. Colonies may have as many as four or five fertile queens, each of which continually produce eggs. Eggs develop into cream-colored larvae that become 1/4 to 1/2-inch long when fully developed.
