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Leaf Cutter Ant

Leaf-cutting ants cannot eat leaves. Instead, they carry the cut pieces back to the nest and use it as compost to cultivate the fungus. The fungus cannot survive outside the nest or reproduce without the ants help. Amazingly, if the ants collect plant material that is toxic to the fungus, the fungus seems to release a chemical signal which stops the ants collecting that particularly plant material. - www.bristolzoo.org.uk/learning/animals/invertebrates/ant

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Uploaded on November 26, 2008
Taken on June 15, 2008