No pigs or chickens yet. But the vast farms where leaf-cutter ants raise their fungal crops may harbor a crew of previously overlooked farmhands — nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

A leaf-cutter ant. Leaf-cutter ants harvest leaves, chop them into nutritious pulp, feed the pulp to nourish their cultivated crops of fungus, and harvest the fungus to feed themselves.

Like fire ants, these creatures are imported from Central and South America and have no natural enemies in our area. This very comprehensive site from Texas A&M AgriLIFE Extension, Leaf Cutting ...

When Catherine Chalmers looks at leaf cutter ants, she sees Facebook; when she sees cockroaches, she sees suburban families. Her science-inspired art can be beautiful and disgusting at the same ...

When their razor-sharp mandibles wear out, leaf-cutter ants change jobs, remaining productive while letting their more efficient sisters take over cutting, say researchers. Their study provides a ...

Leaf-cutting ants snip fragments that are perfect for transport, so how do they gauge the size? Researchers from the University of Würzburg, Germany, publish in Journal of Experimental Biology ...

Leaf-cutting ants are insect superheroes, capable of transporting leaf fragments up to six times their body mass to develop fungus in their borrows. But how do the fascinating creatures judge the ...

Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on Texas leaf cutting ants. The first part was published on Sept. 4. Control of Atta Texana, Texas leaf cutter ants, is a challenge because ...

The Year the Leaf-Cutter Ants Took Manhattan In January, the American Museum of Natural History’s new insectarium gained 500,000 tenants. It has taken them some time to find their footing.

Leaf-cutting ants are insect superheroes, capable of transporting leaf fragments up to six times their body mass to develop fungus in their borrows. But how do the fascinating creatures judge the ...