Naturalist notes: Leafcutter Ants

I love to focus on things that are easily overlooked. One of my favorite creatures of all time is the Leafcutter ant, locally known as Bachac. They are extremely intricate and the more I learn about them, the more I am fascinated!

I have seen some of their pathways on the ground the width of with can vary from five inches to over two feet. They are also known to travel great distances from their nest. To me, they look like they are parading in a carnival band as they busily going about their daily chores. They can climb the tallest of trees. They have a specific way in which they cut their leaves, starting from the outer portion of a leaf and working their way inwards, in the shape of a semi circle.

Indeed, they are fierce little creatures.

Did you know that 99% of the Bachacs that we see doing the hard work of harvesting and transporting vegetative materials are females? That is ‘woman power’ for you! A single ant can carry over fifty times her own body weight, and if you compare yourself to her you will have to carry around a vehicle! Who among you is that strong?

The Leafcutters nest can be found as much as twenty feet or more underground. Nests are known to accommodate as many as five million ants. Each colony usually has one Queen ant, which is about one and a half inches in length and can live for over thirty years.  The other ants in the colony are workers and soldiers and live an average of only three to five years. They are daughters of the Queen ant of that colony. 

Once or twice a year the Queen lays a specific set of eggs, which after maturing would be future winged males and Queens. They have only one nuptial flight where they both leave the colony. The Queen tries to mate with as many males as she can and then she is off to start her own new nest. Unfortunately for the mating males their duties are over and they die after an adult life span of just one day!

I’m sure you have seen ants transporting pieces of leaves, flowers or even fruits. These they take it to the nest where they are chewed up and regurgitated to form compost on which particular type of fungus grows. This fungus is thousands of years old and exists only in the nests of the Leafcutter ant.

The next time you spot a trial of ants, squat down and observe them carefully. You will eventually see a smaller ant riding on the piece of leaf transported by a worker ant.  Her role is to protect the one carrying the leaf from a parasitic wasp, which will attempt to lay an egg in worker. If it is successful a larva can hatch in the nest and eat out the colony of ants.

Leafcutters also have an import role to play in the environment, like everything else that exists in nature. Firstly, they help to prune trees and plants allowing for new growth. You could say they are the large cows or goats of the rainforest! Secondly, by taking pieces of leaves, flowers and fruits underground they are adding nutrients and enriching the quality of the soil. Thirdly, they build their homes underground, therefore creating tunnels to get in and out, and by so doing they aerate the soil. 


© Denise Etienne