"Science" publication: Ants have been farming – for 66 million years

Prof. Dr. Christian Rabeling from the University of Hohenheim searching for fungus-growing ants in Brazil | Image source: Simone Cappellari Rabeling/private (AI extended)

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Leafcutter ants (Atta cephalotes) make characteristic circular cuts to extract the substrate for the fungal garden. Here is a worker from a colony at the University of Texas. | Image source: © Alex Wild, used by permission

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A group of workers (Atta cephalotes) carry leaves to the nest to fertilize their fungal garden. Gamboa, Panama | Image source: © Alex Wild, used by permission

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Leafcutter ant queen (Atta texana) in the nest with the fungal garden. Colony at the University of Texas | Image source: © Alex Wild, used by permission

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