City of Leafcutter Ants: A Sustainable Society of Millions
Amy Hevron
Beneath a Central American rainforest, a colony of roughly eight million leafcutter ants functions like a city. The ants are sisters descended from one queen, yet their physical traits and specialties vary. Different ants tend the queen and larvae, break down waste, clean leaf pieces, make antibiotics, dig tunnels, defend the colony, and gather leaves. The leaves become paste for a fungus garden that supplies the colony’s food. A new queen carries fungus on her mating flight to establish a new colony.
This book appears on 3 reading lists across 1 edition from 3 organizations.
