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Most organisms forage, hunt, or use photosynthesis to get food, but around 50 million years ago — long before humans were around — ants began cultivating and growing their own food.
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.
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.
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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]
Weaver ants or green ants are eusocial insects of the Hymenoptera family Formicidae belonging to the tribe Oecophyllini. Weaver ants live in trees (they are obligately arboreal ) and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk . [ 3 ]
Ant colonies have a complex social structure. Ants’ jobs are determined and can be changed by age. As ants grow older their jobs move them farther from the queen, or center of the colony. Younger ants work within the nest protecting the queen and young. Sometimes, a queen is not present and is replaced by egg-laying workers.