Leaf cutter ants

Here is a video of some very industrious leaf cutter ants. We visited a research station of the Smithsonian Institute located on the outskirts of Bocas del Toro. While walking the grounds, our guide pointed out this ant highway that led from a nearly denuded large bush to the ant colony 75 METERS away! These guys send out scouts who report back the presence of suitable leaves by their pheromone-scented trail. Then armies of worker ants march to the target, chew off bits of leaf and carry their towering loads these immense ant distances. Once in the colony, the leaves form a base for a specialized fungus. The ants essentially farm the fungus underground using the leaves as feed stock. For more info on these amazing creatures, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafcutter_ant