Grass-Cutter Ants
Grass-cutter ants belong to a species of ants also known as leaf cutters. They range from South America to the southern United States. According to the Smithsonian Zoological Park, there are approximately 35 distinct species of leaf cutters. An average colony houses up to eight million ants. Does this Spark an idea?
-
Strength
-
The ants slice through vegetation using powerful jaws that vibrate over 1,000 times a second. They are capable of carrying 20 times their own weight.
Teamwork
-
Using a relay system, the ants work in teams, covering a certain amount of distance and then passing off the pieces of vegetation to the next team.
-
Fungus Farmers
-
Leaf and grass cutters are farmers, cultivating their own food, in the form fungus, deep within their colonies. The vegetation they cut and bring back to the colony is broken down and composted to feed the fungus.
Colony Ventilation
-
The underground fungus gardens emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is vented up and out to the surface via dome-like chimneys that protrude from above the colony.
Pheromones
-
Scout ants go out looking for new vegetation sources. When they find a suitable tree or bush, they lay a trail of pheromones (chemicals secreted to influence the behavior of others in their colony). Worker ants follow the scent to the source to be harvested.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ants & ahises image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
