Texas Leafcutter Ants

[Tank]

Texas Leafcutter Ants Aided, but Also Limited, by Cold-Tolerant Fungus Crops, Research Shows

ScienceDaily (Feb. 23, 2011) â€" Texas leafcutter ants farm crops of fungus that evolved cold tolerance to Texas winters, just as northern farmers cultivate cold weather crops, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin show in a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Though the cold tolerant fungus gives the ants the ability to maintain winter gardens, the fungus is still sensitive enough to cold it limits the ant's ability to spread farther northward.

"The same is true for human farmers," says Ulrich Mueller, professor of biology. "Some of our crops come originally from the tropics, and humans have had to select them over time to grow in colder climates. But we are still limited by our abilities to select and adapt crops to local conditions."

Mueller and his colleagues found that even within Texas the fungus is more tolerant of cold at its northern edge near Dallas, and less tolerant of cold at its southern edge near Brownsville.

One for the Texans on here. Have you ever seen leafcutter ants?

[Whitney]

I've seen video of ants cutting leaves on tv but was not aware a variety of them lived in texas...all we get in this area are fire ants (called that because it hurts a lot if they bite you).

Maybe they only live on farms?

[Tank]

Texas Leafcutting Ant

Habitat, Food Source(s), Damage: Mouthparts are for chewing. Worker ants remove leaves and buds from weeds, small grains, forage and turf grasses, fruit and nut trees including plum and peach trees, blackberry bushes, and many ornamental plants. Pine trees and pine seedlings may also be damaged when other plant material is scarce. Defoliation is particularly noticeable during winter months. Worker ants forage when temperatures range from 45 to 80 degrees F during the year, but mainly at night during the summer. Worker ants travel up to 600 ft. or more along foraging trails and dismantle foliage into leaf pieces that they carry back to the colony over their bodies. In the colony the pieces of leaves are used to raise a fungus. All members of the colony feed exclusively on the fungus.

Looks like you're not likely to see them during the day. But they look like they have quite distinctive nests.

[Tank]

[youtube:z87kitsa]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqic5VuchQ[/youtube:z87kitsa]

[BadPoison]

I've seen mounds like those pictured but only in very rural and woody areas. The ants were much larger than the tiny "fire ants" I usually see around Houston. I don't know, but they could be simililar. They're definitely large.