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Some kinds of ant eaters such as tamanduas will eat some of them, but their main predators probably are little flies in the family Phoridae; they lay their eggs on the necks of the large worker ants (sometimes called soldiers), and their larvae bore into the heads of the ants and feed there till the head falls off. Most of the inside of the head is muscle for the jaws, most of the brain being in the neck, so the ant does not die immediately.

A predator like that, that kills the prey in such a parasite-like way, we call a parasitoid.

The ants have adapted through evolution to avoid the flies as much as they can, and even carry tiny workers on their backs to fend off the flies, but the flies still are a major predator.

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What is the relationship between the phorid fly and the leaf cutter ant?

Food source and pest protection describe the respective ways that leaf cutter ants and fungi benefit from their relationship. The relationship gets called mutualism because the interaction does no harm to either party. Leaf cutter ants inoculate leaves with fungi before colony meals and supply bacteria from their skins to protect the fungi from lethal pests.


What is the dichotomy key of leaf cutter ant?

The dichotomy key for leaf cutter ants typically involves distinguishing characteristics such as body size, coloration, and antenna shape. By carefully observing these features, one can accurately identify different species of leaf cutter ants within the key.


How do leaf cutter ants protect themselves?

Leaf cutter ants protect themselves by living in large colonies with specialized castes, such as soldier ants that defend the colony from predators. They also secrete chemicals from their bodies that can repel or deter attackers. Additionally, they construct complex underground nests with multiple chambers to hide and store their leaf cuttings.


What do leaf cutter ants farm?

Leaf cutter ants live in subterranean colonies, where they have chambers that contain their fungus gardens. They forage above ground to cut leaves to bring back to the colony to cultivate more fungus. These ants are native to Central and South America but there are some species that can be found as far North as Texas in the United States.


How many ants are in a leaf cutter ant colony?

How many thousands or millions of ants are in a colony depends on at least 3 separate things: how old the colony is, how many other ant colonies there are in that part of the jungle or forest, sharing the available food supply, and how many ant-eaters - or other predators of ants - live in that location!