Where does this come from, and can I check it?

The cut leaves feed a garden that digests them and feeds the colony. The figure is taken from Smithsonian, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a animals fact?

Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Leafcutter ants farm a fungus, not the leaves

The cut leaves feed a garden that digests them and feeds the colony Workers carry fragments underground and chew them into a pulp that a specific fungus grows on. The fungus breaks down plant material the ants cannot digest and produces protein rich tips the ants eat. The relationship has run for tens of millions of years. It sits in Mondo's animals collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Smithsonian

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Nature & Animals trivia

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Tags: ants, symbiosis, fungus

Leafcutter ants farm a fungus, not the leaves: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The cut leaves feed a garden that digests them and feeds the colony. The figure is taken from Smithsonian, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a animals fact?: Yes. It sits on the Animals shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.