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Leafcutter ants

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Found widely across Central and South America, leafcutter ants are great gardeners! They don’t eat the leaves they collect, but cultivate them in a garden to grow a specific kind of fungus that they then feed on. In each colony of leaf cutter ants, there is one Queen ant, who is the only one that can reproduce. There are many different types of worker ant that serve the Queen, including minor ants that work in the fungus garden and major ants that work as soldiers, defending the colony from any intruders.

Conservation status | Not evaluated

Fact Sheet

Scientific name

Acromyrmex octospinosus

Family

Formicidae

Order

Hymenoptera

Lifespan

3-5 weeks

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