The mutualistic relationship between leaf-cutting ants and their fungal cultivars, primarily Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, constitutes one of nature’s most intricate examples of symbiosis. This ...

Scientists developed a new method to map exactly how a fungus works with leafcutter ants in a complex microbial community to degrade plant material at the molecular level. The team's insights are ...

Ph.D. student Juju Dessert will explore the fascinating world of leafcutter ants. These ants aren’t eating the leaves they carry—they use plant matter to cultivate a special fungus in their ...

(CNN) — You have probably seen leaf-cutter ants carrying bits of plants, maybe in a nature documentary, at a science museum or in the “Circle of Life” song at the beginning of the 1994 Disney animated ...

When humans began farming crops thousands of years ago, agriculture had already been around for millions of years. In fact, several animal lineages have been growing their own food since long before ...

Species of ants that practice a complex form of fungi agriculture developed their knack for farming about 50 million years ago and have employed several different, successful strategies to culture ...

Like any relationship, the key to a successful leaf-cutter ant colony is communication. The colony that "talks" to each other can conquer forces much larger than themselves. For example, army ant ...

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A researcher at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is donating to a good cause with the money made from hyper-detailed videos of leaf-cutting ants. Adrian Smith, the ...

Q: I have leaf cutter ants attacking my crape myrtle for the fourth time. I’ve used poison at the entry to their nests, and it seems to work for two to three months. They really like this crape myrtle ...

In this episode of Tiny Show and Tell Us, we consider if bacteriophages could become our biggest allies in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Then we cover the historical role of "night soil men ...