SET against the 50 million years that ants have been farming, the 10,000-year
history of human agriculture is a mere blink of an eye. Now it seems that as
well as pre-empting our efforts at cultivation, ants have some neat tricks for
avoiding crop diseases too.
Panamanian leaf-cutter ants (Atta colombica) have a sophisticated
rubbish disposal system that protects their underground fungus gardens from
infestation. “It’s so human,” says Francis Ratnieks at Sheffield University,
“they go to great pains to dump in a way that minimises contact with the
nest.”
Cleanliness is vital because of a parasitic fungus called…
