Leaf Cutting Ant Forum

So as we have a year pass for this place so I've got to pop into see their colony when I visit, today I noticed a funny development, while walking round to the front door of the building where they are housed my boy pointed out an ant on the path, I looked closer and it was Atta? I noticed there was quite a lot, they had infact made a route out from the corner of the building-across a path to a near by waste land with plants, trees etc and where actually foraging!! Amazing lol. I wanted to speak to a member of staff to see if they knew about this but couldn't see anyone.
Excuse my toddlers -)

Ha.. that is brilliant....

Did you notice what they were cutting ? love to have seen that.

Yes I have been asked to go to the zoo this weekend to look at where they are escaping and find ways to prevent it. Always great to see leaf cutters doing their thing. When you start to worry is when they decide to move house!

And of course being a non-native species they will not be welcome in the vicinity!!

To be honest I have had a couple of colonies, quite a few years ago, that spent each summer pruning all of the trees around the hut they lived in. Although it could be argued (correctly) that this was irresponsible, the sight of a trail of leaf carrying ants crossing the lawn was mesmerising and I used to sit for hours and watch them. Last year I checked around the back of my ant room and although I never found the culprit, there was a bramble plant that was completely decimated and the telltale circles were removed from all of the leaves. Fascinating.