Habitat
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Habitat: Atta cephalotes
(Leaf Cutter Ants) are located from South America to the
southern part of North America. They specifically rang from the
lower parts of Mexico to Ecuador with populations dispersed
throughout the upper parts of South America, such as Brazil and
Peru. (AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013)
A. cephalotes have been able to adapt and prosper in
a large array of habitats. For example, according to AntWeb.org,
the colonies that live in Brazil are completely disjointed from
the ones that live in Central America (AntWeb, Barry Bolton,
2013). Even though A. cephalotes are flexible when it
comes to their habitat, they prefer plantations, clearings or on
the edges of forests (Hölldobler & Wilson, 2011).These preferred
habitats provide an abundance of plant material used for
cultivating food (AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013). They also range
in size for certain functions and environments, but more about
that in the Form and Function page (AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013).
They are able live at most altitudes, but prefer lower levels
because of abundance of food (AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013). The
preferred habitat of these ants are a semi-wet environment
(AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013). The plants that they use to make
food reside in these conditions (AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013).
Because leaf cutter ants prefer clearings or disturbed land,
they tend to thrive when they are near human plantations
(AntWeb, Barry Bolton, 2013). These ants are able to bring the
leaves back to the nest and use them. Leaf cutter ants can wreak
havoc on plantations, depending on the crop (AntWeb, Barry
Bolton, 2013).
Atta cephalotes have been able to
survive so well because they have an endless supply of food
wherever they go. This is because they grow their own food on
something that is endless within a forest; Leaves (Frank & Sudd,
1987). These ants cut up leaves, bring them back to their nest,
and grow food on them. (Frank & Sudd, 1987).
The Leaf Cutter ant lives among many other animals, although
they do not have “normal” mutualistic relationships with any.
The only relationships that ants have with other organisms is to
be eaten or, in the case of the fungi, to be eaten (Hölldobler &
Wilson, 2011). Although ants eat the fungi, they give it a place
to grow and feed. A good case of a “normal” relationship is
with certain Army Ants (Nomamyrmex esenbecki) (Swartz, 1998).
Other than that, they are just there.
The nests of most Atta genus use both thermal
convection and ventilation to exchange gases that are let off by
the ants and Fungi within the chambers (Hölldobler & Wilson,
2011). A. cephalotes live on the edges of clearings.
The nest is built to harness these winds strong clearing winds
and ventilate it, thus clearing the gases let off. (Hölldobler
& Wilson, 2011). Because of these high winds A. cephalotes
do not rely on thermal convection as much as the Atta
that live within a forest (Hölldobler & Wilson, 2011).
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