Ants, like this Formica sp. are among the best project managers. They cooperate with each other on massive projects, and sometimes work with different species. Ants, like this Formica sp. are among the best project managers. They cooperate with each other on massive projects, and sometimes work with different species.

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Ant

Leafcutter ant fact file

Get the facts

  • The scientific name for leafcutter ants is Atta cephalotes.
  • An average nest of leafcutter ants contains over 5 million ants
  • Leafcutter ants are also known as 'parasol' ants because of the way they carry leaves above their heads.
  • There are 3 types of leafcutter ant: the queen, soldier and worker.
  • There are 5 castes of worker ant: foragers, gardeners, those that chop up leaves, tiny ants that distribute leaf bits to the fungi and those called minimae that tend the fungus.
  • Ants of different types vary in size, from the large-jawed soldier ants to the tiny minimae workers.
  • Leafcutter ants secrete a chemical trail so they can always find the nest.
  • The ants are capable of carrying over 50 times their own body weight.
  • Leaves brought back to the nest are used as a fertiliser. Their special fungus-food grows in this.
  • The ants tend a fungus 'garden' in the nest and this fungus is the only food source for the ants.
  • The ants will travel several hundred metres in search of the right kind of leaves. This is a long way for something so tiny.
  • Wild ants collect leaves from all layers of the forest, from the floor to the upper canopy.
  • Each queen leafcutter ant can lay up to 30,000 eggs each day.
  • If the queen ant dies, all the other ants die too. She lives at the heart of the colony and lays all its eggs.
  • A leafcutter ant's nest can be up to the size of a small car.

Watch the Museum's leafcutter ants

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