SPB & Invasive Insects - Photos: Ants
FTown
Ants (Atta texana)
For further information and publications see page for John C. Moser.
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| Nest surface of the town ant (Atta texana) showing typical crescent-shaped entrance holes. This species is found in Louisiana and Texas and is closely related to the leaf-cutting ants found in Central and South America. |
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| Worker ant removing a clipped needle of a pine seedling. Town ants often cause severe damage to pine seedlings and saplings. |
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| The major defense mechanism of the town ant is a powerful bite. It also possesses a sting but uses it only for communication (laying trails) rather than defense. |
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| Various castes of the town ant showing the winged male, winged queen, and polymorphic worker castes. The smallest workers tend the fungus gardens (see below) and never venture outside the nest; the medium workers forage for leaves; the major workers occasionally forage, but mostly function in defense activities. Photo courtesy of Texas Forest Service. |
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| Town ant workers following an artificial trail made by drawing a very dilute solution of the ant's trail pheromone methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate. Only 0.33 mg of this pheromone would draw a detectable trail around the world. |
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| Cavity containing a 30 cm diameter fungus garden, found at a depth 2.5 m in a dozer-excavated town ant nest. These fungus gardens are composed of cut leaves or pine needles on which the ants grow a basidiomycete fungus, which serves as the major food source for the ant colony. |
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| Workers tending their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) which lay on the surface of the fungus garden. |
ungi
and Mits