Texas Leafcutter Ant Atta texana

The Texas leafcutter ant is nature's farmer—a fungus-farming specialist that harvests leaves from over 200 plant species to cultivate underground gardens of fungal growth, their actual food source. A single supercolony can house up to 2 million workers toiling in perfect coordination, and the colony's appetite is legendary: they can defoliate an entire mature citrus tree in less than 24 hours. These industrious ants build massive underground cities that can stretch a remarkable 20 feet deep, contain 1,000 or more entrance holes, and cover an area roughly the size of a small house, making them impressive architects of the insect world.