Science news articles about 'leaf cutter ants'

... find out if they would restrict each others' growth. Ants cut leaves that contained both high ... microbes. "Fungi in the leaves were not welcome in the leaf cutter ants' garden," concluded Van Bael.

... years. Just as farming helped humans become a dominant species, it has also helped leaf-cutter ants become dominant herbivores, and one of the most successful social insects in nature. According to ...

... over 50 million years. Just as farming helped humans become a dominant species, it has also helped leaf-cutter ants become dominant herbivores and one of the most successful social insects in nature.

... to the processes underlying the collective organization of leaf-cutter ants. In the new study, the researchers show ... -marked two-way trails, foraging ants must reverse their orientation responses once ...

Nestled within the twisting fungus gardens of leaf-cutter ants exists a complex symbiotic web that has evolved over millions of years. Now, with the help of a major genomic sequencing ...

... -- Nestled within the twisting fungus gardens of leaf-cutter ants exists a complex symbiotic web that has evolved over millions of years. Now, with the help of a major genomic sequencing ...

... a previously unknown symbiosis between ants and bacteria and provides insight into how leaf-cutter ants have come to dominate the American tropics and subtropics. What's more, the work, conducted by ...

Leaf-cutter ants, which cultivate fungus for food, have many remarkable qualities. Here's a new one to add to the list: the ant farmers, like their human counterparts, depend on nitrogen-fixing ...

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria boosts nutrients for crops that feed millions of six-legged farmers