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Leafcutter ants are any of at least 55 species [1] [2] [3] of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the three genera Atta, Acromyrmex, and Amoimyrmex, within the tribe Attini. [4] These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all endemic to South and Central America, Mexico, and parts of the southern United States. [5]
Atta cephalotes is a species of leafcutter ant in the tribe Attini (the fungus-growing ants). A single colony of ants can contain up to 5 million members, and each colony has one queen that can live more than 20 years. The colony comprises different castes, known as "task partitioning", and each caste has a different job to do. [2]
The media workers also gain subsistence from plant sap they ingest while physically cutting out sections of leaf from a variety of plants. [ 6 ] Before leaving their parent colonies, winged females carry a small section of fungus in their intrabuccal pocket, and with this, the subsequently wingless queens seed the fungus gardens of incipient ...
Leafcutter ants live only in South America, Mexico, Central America, and a few select areas of the Southern United States, including Texas.. There are at least 55 distinct species of leaf cutter ...
This is a list of leafcutter ants, comprising 42 species from two genera: Atta and Acromyrmex. Species Image Common name Distribution Atta bisphaerica: Atta capiguara:
There are five main types of agriculture that fungus-growing ants practice: [9] Lower, coral fungi, yeast, generalized higher, and leafcutter agricultural systems.Lower agriculture is the most primitive system and is currently practiced by 80 species in 10 genera.
A. sexdens and the related species, A. cephalotes are the principal insect pests where they are found, destroying billions of dollars worth of crops with their ability to quickly defoliate and strip crops of anything useful to the ants. In fact, Atta ants are considered the primary herbivorous pest in many areas where they are found. [12]
Atta mexicana is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Atta. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced attines (fungus-growing ants) within the tribe Attini .