Leaf cutter ants

Leaf cutter ants live in Mexico and South America. They are very large. Their name describes their job. They grow fungus! Here is how it works. There are six jobs in the process:

1. 1. The cutters. Their job is to collect little pieces of leaves and bring them back to the ant farm. When they are carrying a leaf, they can’t protect themselves from predators, so a little ant rides on top of the leaf, keeping a good lookout.
   2. The hackers. They are slightly smaller than the cutters. They chop the leaves into little bits and fertilize them.
   3. The chewers. They are a little bit smaller than the hackers. They squeeze and soften the leaves to tiny bits.
   4. The pasters. They add the leaf bits to the garden chambers and paste them with their saliva and leaf juices.
   5. The haulers. They are the second smallest and almost the size of a black ant. They bring the fungus from old chambers to new ones. This enables it to spread and grow.
   6. Finally, the harvesters. They are the very smallest. They harvest the fungus for all of the ants to eat.

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