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• n  bee that cuts rounded pieces from leaves and flowers to line its nest

• As he notes, "I have seen leaf-cutter ants eat my tent, fungi grow in my lenses, and larvae emerge from the flesh of my leg.
• For instance, the piquia tree produces a compound that appears to be toxic to leaf-cutter ants, which cause millions of dollars of damage each year to South American agriculture.

• leaf-cutting bee
• leaf-cutter bee

News & Articles

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• Leaf-Cutter Ants Lend A Hand In Biofuel Research
  Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online As gardeners around the United States tend to their flowers or herbs, leaf-cutter ants are actively cultivating gardens of fungus and bacteria as a source of food and shelter. According to a new study in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology , a team of American researchers has found that the active enzymes in these ants’ gardens ...
  June 15, 2013 - redOrbit
• Bioenergy potential unearthed in leaf-cutter ant communities
  As spring warms up Wisconsin, humans aren't the only ones tending their gardens. Colonies of leaf-cutter ants cultivate thriving communities of fungi and bacteria using freshly cut plant material.
  June 14, 2013 - Science Daily
• Researchers Unearth Bioenergy Potential in Leaf-Cutter Ant Communities
  As spring warms up Wisconsin, humans aren't the only ones tending their gardens. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Bacteriology, colonies of leaf-cutter ants cultivate thriving communities of fungi and bacteria using freshly cut plant material.
  June 14, 2013 - Newswise