Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
©© 2017 Kryssia Campos/Moment via Getty Images. Leafcutter ants farm various fungi from the Lepiotaceae family in a symbiotic relationship. The ants care for and protect the fungi, providing ...
Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on which they later feed. Their farming habits typically have large effects on their surrounding ecosystem.
Discovered only in 2016, ant farming and agriculture with plants is a rapidly evolving field of discoveries. As of 2022, it is estimated that ants assist in the dispersal of seeds for over 11,000 plant species, are in mutualistic relationships with at least 700 plant species, and engage in purely agricultural processes with hundreds of others.
There are several species of gliding ant including Cephalotes atratus; this may be a common trait among arboreal ants with small colonies. Ants with this ability are able to control their horizontal movement so as to catch tree trunks when they fall from atop the forest canopy. [143] Other species of ants can form chains to bridge gaps over ...
For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways to reach us
Ant–fungus mutualism is a symbiosis seen between certain ant and fungal species, in which ants actively cultivate fungus much like humans farm crops as a food source. There is only evidence of two instances in which this form of agriculture evolved in ants resulting in a dependence on fungi for food.
Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, used later by their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. When the liquid stored inside a honeypot ant is needed, the worker ants stroke the antennae of the honeypot ant, causing the honeypot ant to regurgitate the stored liquid from its crop. [4] [5]
Eciton sp. forming a bridge. Army ants (Eciton hamatum) form "living bridges" to assist in transportation. [16] Army ant colonies may move locations each day in search of food. [16] These bridges provide a path over obstacles and allow for the ants to search for food at an increased speed. [16]