Leafcutter Ant

Leafcutter ants are small but amazing insects that live in the warm rainforests of Central and South America. There are many kinds of leafcutter ant in the genus Atta, and one of the best known is Atta cephalotes. If you walk through their forest, you might spot a long line of them marching along, each one holding a piece of green leaf high above its head like a tiny umbrella.

Here is the surprising part: leafcutter ants do not actually eat the leaves. They carry the leaf pieces deep into their underground nest, chew them into a soft mush, and use them to grow a special fungus. The fungus grows in big spongy gardens, and it is this fungus, not the leaves, that the ants feed on. That makes leafcutter ants farmers, just like people who grow crops.

A leafcutter colony is full of different-sized ants, and each size has its own job. The tiniest ants stay home to tend the fungus gardens and look after the babies. Medium-sized ants are the harvesters who go out to cut and carry the leaves. The biggest ants are guards who protect the busy trails. Riding on the leaves, tiny ants sometimes hitch a lift and keep watch for pesky flies.

Working together, the ants make one of the busiest teams in the whole forest. A single large nest can hold millions of ants and stretch far underground with hundreds of rooms. They talk to each other by leaving smelly scent trails, which help the others find the way to the best leaves and back home again.

Leafcutter ants have not been given a conservation rating by the IUCN, because tiny insects like these are very hard to count. Even so, they are important helpers in the rainforest. As they trim leaves and dig their tunnels, they mix up the soil and help new plants grow, keeping their green home healthy for everyone.