Workers are strongly polymorphic, from tiny garden workers of about 2 mm to large soldiers around 15 mm; queens are roughly 25–30 mm long.
Fine-art photographic collection
Atta cephalotes
A fungus-farming superorganism built from workers of radically different sizes.
About this species
Hairy-headed leafcutter ant
Atta cephalotes(Linnaeus, 1758)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Atta cephalotes is a major Neotropical leafcutter ant. Workers harvest vegetation not to eat directly, but to feed a cultivated fungus that becomes the colony’s principal food source. Mature colonies organise millions of individuals into size-linked roles, from fungus care to cutting, transport and defence.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Myrmicinae · Attini · Atta
Accepted · checked 2026-07-15
Central and northern South AmericaBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
Recorded from southern Mexico through Central America into tropical South America, including the Amazon basin and Bolivia.
Lowland tropical forest, secondary growth, plantations and other warm habitats with suitable vegetation and soil for deep nests.
Foraging may occur by day or night according to temperature, rainfall and local conditions. Persistent trunk trails can extend far from the nest.
The colony cultivates a specialised fungus on processed plant fragments. Adults also take plant sap and fungal liquids, while larvae depend heavily on the cultivated fungus.
Usually a single long-lived queen with hundreds of thousands to several million workers. Worker size is continuously variable and closely linked to division of labour.
What makes this species remarkable?
The visible leaf fragments are agricultural raw material: workers clean, cut and inoculate them inside the nest to maintain a living fungus crop.
Mature nests can occupy more than 100 square metres, while foraging columns may travel hundreds of metres from the colony.
The smallest workers remain close to the fungus gardens and brood, while the largest workers specialise strongly in defence.
More photographs
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