ABSTRACT
Endemic to the neotropics, Atta and Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants defoliate many natural and agricultural ecosystems (Haines 1975: Fowler et al. 1986). Several authors have suggested their ecological success is linked to the fungus they cultivate. This fungus grows on a vegetable substrate gathered by the ants and is the ant larvae’s sole source of food (Quinlan and Cherrett 1979).
