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Amazin' Amazon Mystery Animals
Mystery
Animal #3
- Answer: Leafcutter Ants
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Amazin' Amazon Mystery Animals
Mystery
Animal #3
- Answer: Leafcutter Ants
Up
and over ... Leafcutter ants not only carry pieces of leaves that
weigh many times more than they do, but they practically do acrobatics while
they lug their loads. Imagine a runner having to run a marathon, not on a
paved road - but over an obstacle course, while carrying three thousand
pounds worth of weights over her head. That's sort of what leafcutter ants
do--only when the race is over they do it again--and again and again and
again. But individual accomplishments mean nothing in ant society. It's
only through teamwork that leafcutters transport tons and tons of leaf pieces--15%
of the forest's foliage, scientists estimate--from the canopy to their underground
homes. Now those are remarkable accomplishments!