Figures 9.6


The fungus gardens of the leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes (Formicidae), require a constant supply of leaves.
Figures 9.6. The fungus gardens of the leaf-cutter ant, Atta cephalotes (Formicidae), require a constant supply of leaves.

(a) A medium-sized worker, called a media, cuts a leaf with its serrated mandibles while a minor worker guards the media from a parasitic phorid fly (Apocephalus) that lays its eggs on living ants. (b) A guarding minor hitchhikes on a leaf fragment carried by a media. (After Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1967)

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  A stonefly nymph (Plecoptera: Gripopterygidae) showing filamentous anal gills.