Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

OK, not sure this is technically in its correct home here but its a pet hate of mine and I wanted to put this out there.

I have always referred to Leaf Cutting Ants as Leaf Cutting Ants. Others, I think mainly in America, call them Leaf Cutter Ants.
Personally I think the following nomenclature should be adopted but I am open to your abuse, criticism and ridicule regarding this.
From a simple english correctness the term should either be Leaf Cutters or Leaf Cutting Ants. You could not say Leaf Cuttings and it makes no sense to say Leaf Cutter Ants which is why I either call them Leaf Cutting Ants or Leaf Cutters.
I know, its sad, but there you are!

lol, has this annoyed you the older you get?

A lot of things annoy me the older I get!!

Also Andrew, you seem to always spell A. octospinosus with an 'i' instead of a 'u'? Is that just a synonym?

Its a bad habit and stems back a few years when I was creating 'clever' passwords for accessing emails etc. I spelled all of them with an 'i' then realised that I was writing octospinosus with an i all the time. Embarrassing but what can you do. I thought about acting as if everyone else was stupid and that it always should have been an 'i' but I think that approach was destined to failure. So now I have actually got to consciously remember to write it with a 'u' and so many times I remember after I have sent something or posted it. So frustrating. Just remember its octospinosus regardless of what I write. So annoying.

Acromyrmexbob wrote:OK, not sure this is technically in its correct home here but its a pet hate of mine and I wanted to put this out there.

I have always referred to Leaf Cutting Ants as Leaf Cutting Ants. Others, I think mainly in America, call them Leaf Cutter Ants.
Personally I think the following nomenclature should be adopted but I am open to your abuse, criticism and ridicule regarding this.
From a simple english correctness the term should either be Leaf Cutters or Leaf Cutting Ants. You could not say Leaf Cuttings and it makes no sense to say Leaf Cutter Ants which is why I either call them Leaf Cutting Ants or Leaf Cutters.
I know, its sad, but there you are!

I would be interested in some of the members who have joined since this post went up and what they think of this?

Leaf cutting ants - it sounds way better

It doesn't bother me either way, but in your position I can understand why it would Andrew

I use both! if I'm talking about ants then I will say leaf cutter but if I'm writing I will use leaf cutting ants!

Oddly enough, there was a question on Pointless recently (tv programme) and one of the answers was "Leaf Cutter Ants". I thought it was odd at the time.