Retour au reportage Retour au reportage
20170048_0080

© Cyril FRESILLON/CRCA/CNRS Images

Reference

20170048_0080

Fourmis "Atta laevigata" découpant des morceaux de feuille

Ants of the species Atta laevigata cutting and gathering pieces of leaf placed in a box, in order to feed the fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus. Atta ants, tropical ants from South America also known as leafcutter ants, live in symbiosis with the fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, which they feed and feed from in turn. The ants known as "majors" or "soldiers" use their powerful jaws to cut the leaves into pieces, which are then transported by the medium-sized workers. The "minors" follow a chemical trail marked on the ground all the way to the nest. They take the sections of leaf, cut them up into smaller pieces and use them to cultivate the fungus, building their nest by hollowing out chambers inside it. In this way, Leucoagaricus gongylophorus proves to be indissociable from the life of the colony.

CNRS Institute(s)

Regional office(s)

Scientific topics

CNRS Images,

Our work is guided by the way scientists question the world around them and we translate their research into images to help people to understand the world better and to awaken their curiosity and wonderment.