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Length
leaf cutter ants will carry plants
up to 2 km
Estimated
number of ants seen
2,500
average
size of leaf part carried by each ant
1 square cm
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Lesson
Plans
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Ants
go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah!
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the Chat Session today, we got to see a path of leaf-cutter
ants chewing up some flower petals and some leaves.
We asked the students in the Chat Room if we should take
a picture, and they vehemently said yes. |
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Leaf-Cutter
ants are not uncommon in Costa Rica, but we haven't
been able to see them very often. I think we usually pass
their trails, or pass them as they're working, but never
notice them. It's only when you look closely, do you begin
to realize that the ground is moving with thousands of
ants
carrying enormous chunks of plant material. |
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To see an army of Leaf-Cutter
Ants cutting a path through the forest is pretty
amazing. What makes it even better is when you get close
to the ants and are able to see how big the sections
of leaf they are carrying.
Leaf-Cutter
Ants are some of the most important insects
to the rainforest's soil. They act as tiny compost piles
that add nutrients to the soil. The Ants do this through
chewing large sections of a plant's leaves, and bringing
the sections back to their colony.
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Click To Enlarge
Leaf
cutter ants are actually a good source of protein
for humans, and they are eaten in parts of Mexico. It
is also claimed that the Indians used the jaws of a
leaf-cutter as stitches to hold together the edges of
a wound. |
Click To Enlarge
"So, where are we going with these?" Leaf
cutter ants carry the pieces of leaf down into
their burrows to create nutrient-rich fungus that the
ants, soil, and plants all benefit from. They're the
world's smallest farmers! |
Once the leaf material is down in the ant colony, it
is left to decompose. The ants don't eat the leaves,
but rather eat the bacteria that is produced by the
decaying plant material.
Leaf-Cutter
Ants, create a well-marked trail that's actually
more like an ant highway. The trails are usually very
long. Every time I've seen what I thought was the end
of the trail, I'll look a few more yards in front, and
the trail will still be going. Some of the trails can
be up to three kilometers long! Leaf-Cutters
are surely some of the hardest working creatures in
the rainforest.
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Critters
of Costa Rica Index
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