Leaf-cutter Ant

Description:

These Ants will cut leaves all day, every day. Usually the biggest and strongest are the ones to chew through the tough cellulose of the leaves, while the slightly smaller workers carry the cut-outs back to the nest. In the nest, specialised workers will tend to the mushroom gardens, which grow on these leaves. What the ants cultivate, is a fungus that produces growths on which the ants feed. Nope, it wasn't us humans who invented food crops. These little guys have been doing this for a lot longer.

Habitat:

Tropical rainforest in the Ecuadorian Amazon region.