200 Day Timelapse - Leaf Cutter Ants - Fungus Garden Growth: Acromyrmex Octospinosus

[@izzy-kv9ji]

is anybody else here from that post about "stripping completely naked to keep her attention while i infodump about ants"

[@mychguy9896]

Yes lol

[@quackelstheduck2040]

o/

[@gemmapearce7070]

Sure am

[@aZevonFan]

I like your shoelaces 😉

[@Cheshiregrinn91]

@@aZevonFan Thanks. We all stole them from the president ;)

[@ShadySheev]

Ône day they will start sculpting it in your image and worship you as their god.

[@OtterKammer]

i finally read entangled life recently and it mentioned leafcutters briefly. so awesome to see this being a bit more on the mycology side of it!

[@attines5979]

Thanks for the book recommendation! There are many fascinating angles when it comes to leaf cutters - it’s no wonder they are heavily studied!

[@bakawaki]

wow this is cool, kinda funny when they built the structure a bit too top heavy at 4:39 and it started to lean over, but they just roll with it 😊

[@FizzleFX]

I've got 1 recommendation or two: >don't put the shroom on the floor. the moist gathering down there kills much of it. Ceramis could help with that. >make the lid a dome shape so the water doesn't drip on top both should save your girls a lot of work in the long run

[@attines5979]

Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, I don’t completely agree with your advice; humid air rises, and doesn’t gather at the floor. Seramis / Leca / Plaster or other porous material all gather muck and end up getting very smelly. This is the reason for the acrylic layer on these setups - to prevent the bottom of the fungus getting wet from over damp plaster or being in contact with dirty porous materials. In my later setups I have moved away from these methods entirely, opting for bare glass or plastic bases without any porous materials in the setup at all. Equally dripping of condensation is avoidable through careful ventilation and temperature control. The closer to an exact stable temperature that can be achieved, the lower the chance of dew point (condensation) occurring. I haven’t had dripping in my setups since I’ve changed the lid design to something different entirely. There of course are many different ways to achieve the same thing, but in my opinion the current methods have their limitations. Thank you though for your thoughts and wanting to help, I do appreciate the sentiment :)

[@FizzleFX]

@@attines5979 Water goes up. Condensates into drops. If you got a 'dome shape' it will most likely run down the sides and... well... that's the theory. There are many roads leading to rome.

[@raymonesmith4115]

Amazing🔥🔥

[@theantsproject1958]

amazing!! Great job!

[@attines5979]

Thank you :)

[@Bear-kr3gr]

So freaking cool. So they’re obviously removing the bottommost parts of the mound from the growth end. Are they eating all that mass now that I assume it’s completely fungal, or are they just eating a fungus on its surface and after so long it’s depleted and no longer a good growth medium so they remove it? How bud is the trash pile of the colony? Is the removed chamber material appear there?

[@attines5979]

Thanks for the comment! You are correct - the workers consume the fungus that grows on the leaf matter (specifically they consume hyphal swellings called gongylidia, clusters of these swellings (called staphyla) are harvested by minima and fed to brood and queen). As the growing medium becomes deplete of nutrients (for the fungus) workers remove it along with old mycelium and take it to a waste pile. Personally I have a 20cm cube tank as a waste area (approx 7L) which they almost fill every 2-3 months or so - I now empty it roughly monthly. The turn over of fungus is really apparent on the timelapse but much less so in real time and viewing day to day.

[@Bear-kr3gr]

Well that’s very edifying, thanks so much for your well conceived reply. Makes me very embarrassed by the apparent loss of English grammar ability displayed by me towards the end of my first post. Anywho the time lapse did (as you said) provide a unique view of what’s actually happening and I found very diverting. Thank you for your efforts.

[@NamelessNancy1312]

i think the challenge they were facing was the base was 'melting' as it went on. Ive seen the fungi nests be on a mesh platform of sorts. Somthing to ponder on for future cubes

[@attines5979]

Thanks for the comment - mesh under fungus gardens (like in some other setups) is not my favourite idea. There is a high risk of it getting dirty under there, and waste building up. This can release nasty gases which ultimately can harm the fungus. There is no need for the base of the fungus to be raised up as long as there is little to no chance of it getting wet due to flooding or pooling. Personally I prefer a non-porous base that the workers can clean. In the wild they would remove contaminated soils but we don’t have that luxury with captive colonies unless we opt for a full soil setup.

[@Blueshirt38]

So the large mass in the middle of the enclosure is the fungus they are growing?

[@attines5979]

Correct! The large mass is made up of mulched up leaf matter - the fungus grows on this. As the fungus consumes the leaf matter and it deteriorates the workers take it away and form a waste pile. So the fungus is constantly having old material taken away from the bottom and new material added to the top.

[@Blueshirt38]

@@attines5979 That is incredibly cool. I worked in pest control for about 6 years which is where my love for entomology grew, and I'm happy to not be killing them anymore. I know I have read a bit about leafcutters in the past, so I will have to do more of a deep dive into nature's smallest farmers.

[@attines5979]

@@Blueshirt38 Leaf cutters, in my biased opinion, are one of the most interesting pet inverts - always active, always something to watch, and it’s fascinating! I’m in the UK - but assuming you’re in the USA there are 3 native species, Atta Texana, Atta Mexicana, and Acromyrmex Versicolour (higher attines) - you also have some of the native lower attines (trachymyrmex etc). Definitely worth reading up on!

[@lingrado763]

@@attines5979 Texas leafcutter ants are my favorites! I love how they improve the soil when they move their colony.

[@Chaosdrache]

How do you keep the humidity in the mushroom chamber?

[@attines5979]

I have a small section at the base of the tank where I can add water if it starts to look dry. I try to keep at least 1mm of water in the base section. The fungus sits on a platform above this. A steady temperature also helps keep humidity high.

[@Felix-no7nx]

How often do you feed them? Every day?

[@attines5979]

Most days, if I can. Generally at least 3 times a week. They do take dried petals and leaves too, so if I’m away I can leave some fresh and some dried for them to work through!

[@thembosat]

sorry but what kind of plants do you use to feed them ? and do they need water supply ?

[@attines5979]

I mainly offer Elder leaves, Doc leaves, Laurel, Privet, Rose leaves and rose flowers for them to feed the fungus. The fungus requires a high humidity so generally they don’t require a water supply. I do offer water in a shallow dish and they regularly drink from it.

[@thembosat]

@@attines5979 one more question is my atta sexdens fungus is collapsed by shipping. Will they recover it ? Do i need to do something to help them ?

[@attines5979]

Fungus breaking up during shipping is normal. Best advice is to leave them in the tub they arrived in for a couple of weeks to allow them to sort and rebuild - with the lid partially open (leave a 1cm gap). After this taking the built fungus out of the tub and putting a larger tub over top of them to give a smaller environment to manage. Best of luck :)

[@NowThatsSketch]

What did you use to take such a long time lapse?

[@attines5979]

I used an old iPhone with iMotion app to record and mini tripod plus the phone plugged in. Edited and posted on my current phone. Nothing fancy.

[@LILGOOFIE500]

Is it just me or does the fungus ball look a bit like a piece of coral

[@attines5979]

Not just you, I can totally see that. They are quite beautiful structures - really organic.

[@ChiTwnCaliVet]

What's the song?

[@timc3257]

crazyyyyyy....whose running the show, the ants or the fungus?

[@attines5979]

Studies say that the fungus is the dominant partner in the symbiotic relationship. Ant workers will choose to sacrifice themselves and bring back leaves laced with pesticides instead of leaves laced with fungicides. It’s also thought that the fungus gives off pheromones that tell the ants what type of leaves/nutrients it requires - kind of like a shopping list!

[@timc3257]

@@attines5979 danggggg thanks for the info!