A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Atta sp.
These ants were found scurrying along a 4" wide cleared trail across a path in humid rain forest of the Maya Mt. foothills. While there are are two genera of leaf-cutter, Atta and Acromyrmex, Atta ants have 3 pairs of spines and a smooth exoskeleton on the upper surface of the thorax, while Acromyrmex ants have four pairs and a rough exoskeleton. That surface looks smooth and shiny to me. In the 4th photo one ant is carrying a purple flower petal while others carry tiny white flowers.
You can see their trail crossing the path in #2, and #3 is an ant's-eye view.
While the ants can defoliate an entire tree, it usually doesn't kill the tree. An ant village may cover a couple hundred square feet, with numerous holes and mounds.
Spotted on Jan 7, 2012
Submitted on Feb 7, 2016
2 Comments
Thanks for your comment, Leuba. I've spent hours watching these little guys, and find them fascinating.
Thank you for this totally interesting spotting Irene. Pic 2 is really special seeing them cross the path !