Tag Archives: mexico

Spiny Fungiculturists, a short species profile from my recent trip to Quintana Roo, MX

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Acromyrmex octospinosus scraping something off the railing that led down to the Cenote. I’m not sure what the bird species was in the background. Location: Tulum, Quintana Roo, MX

This is a Neotropical leaf cutter ant, Acromyrmex octospinosus, a taxonomically challenging species complex of fungus farming ants found ranging from Brazil to Northern Mexico, and including Cuba and the Lesser Antilles (Mera-Rodriguez et al.,2025).

I observed more than a few of these while we were visiting in Quintana Roo, MX in late January. This one was on the handrail of the steps leading down to a cenote in a shaded area in Tulum. I also found specimens daily in the swimming pool at the property where we lodged during our stay.

These spiky, dark-red leaf cutter ants practice what is known as fungiculture, meaning they utilize fresh vegetation, including flowers, to grow their obligate fungal symbionts. The spiny projections on the exoskeleton of the ant help it to maneuver vegetative material around on their backs. These fungus-farming ants provide their fungal cultivars with food, dispersal, waste management services, and protection.

This fungus farming practice is extraordinarily sophisticated and the ants’ investment in labor even includes “weeding” their food garden. The ants even have their own sanitizing and pharmacy tools on hand. They have special infrabuccal pockets https://sci-hub.su/10.1016/j.asd.2022.101154 to filter the material they collect for their fungus gardens, screening out spores of fungal contaminants that might interfere with the ants’ specialized garden (Quinlan, 1978). They are also able to produce antimicrobials to protect their fungi from pathogens. The ant farmers utilize the fungi they cultivate as their main food source for themselves and their larvae.

Leaf Cutter Ant in Tulum, MX

I don’t have time to go into an extensive write-up about them, but did link some interesting papers and websites for your review in case you’re interested in learning more.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

References

AntWiki. 2026. Acromyrmex octospinosus. https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Acromyrmex_octospinosus#Life_History_Traits
Barke, J., Seipke, R. F., Grüschow, S., Heavens, D., Drou, N., Bibb, M. J., … & Hutchings, M. I. 2010. A mixed community of actinomycetes produce multiple antibiotics for the fungus farming ant Acromyrmex octospinosus. BMC biology, 8(1), 109.

iNaturalist. 2026. Acromyrmex. https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50162-Acromyrmex#articles-tab

Mera‐Rodríguez, D., Fernández‐Marín, H., & Rabeling, C. 2025. Phylogenomic approach to integrative taxonomy resolves a century‐old taxonomic puzzle and the evolutionary history of the Acromyrmex octospinosus species complex. Systematic Entomology, 50(3), 469-494.

Quinlan, R.J., Cherrett, J.M. 1978. Studies on the role of the infrabuccal pocket of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) (Hym., Formicidae). Ins. Soc 25, 237–245 . https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224744

Quinlan, R.J. and Cherrett, J.M. 1978, Aspects of the symbiosis of the leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) and its food fungus. Ecological Entomology, 3: 221-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1978.tb00922.x

Therrien, P. 1986. Behavioral ecology of the leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich), in Guadeloupe, F.W.I. (T). University of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0097339

Wang, Chu, Alessio Cocco, Chung-Chi Lin, Johan Billen. 2022. Morphology and ultrastructure of the infrabuccal pocket in Strumigenys ants. Arthropod Structure & Development. Volume 68, 101154. ISSN 1467-8039.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2022.101154. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467803922000159

Wetterer, James. 1991. Foraging Ecology of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Acromyrmex Octospinosus in a Costa Rican Rain Forest. Psyche. 98. 361-371. 10.1155/1991/46737.

Fernando (Brave Traveler), the Firebrat

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I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile now. Catching up on projects like this will help mark time until our cold winter weather gives way to warm spring sunshine. This is a story about a brave little bug that came back in my suitcase from our pre-covid trip to Mexico. His name was Fernando. The drawings are something I worked on during the long rainy days we were stuck indoors.

My husband took me to Los Cabos, Mexico in January 2019 for some sunshine.   It gets so dreary and dark in the Pacific Northwest that spending ten days visiting the Baja Peninsula confers many health benefits.  These include replenishing your vitamin D levels and improving your mood if you suffer Seasonal Affective Disorder.  

Getting to Mexico from Seattle is a bit of a journey – the worst of it getting off San Juan Island since our ferry system is reliably unreliable.  We flew Alaska Airlines direct to Los Cabos.  They have newer planes and nice flight attendants, so our experience was pretty stress free.  We rented a car in Los Cabos and began our adventure, but since I’m not a travel writer, this story isn’t going to be about traveling through Baja.  Trust me that we got the sunshine we needed.  Our experience in  Mexico was mostly wonderful.  The people were nice, food delicious, and we felt safe.  Caveat…my ONLY issue was with our airbnb hostess who let her cat free roam and it brought me an injured gecko.  Being Drago’s mom has increased my awareness of how Herps (reptiles and amphibians) are susceptible to pain just like we are.  It’s not cool to let your cat go out and torture wildlife.  That’s in your control as a cat owner and please be a responsible cat owner.  Keep kitty in a catio, on a leash, supervised with you watching closely when outdoors, or INSIDE!  Rant over.  

This is Fernando’s story:

Fernando lived in a little driftwood “casa” on a Los Cabos beach where he could lounge and enjoy the warm sunshine every day.  Little did I know I was sneaking Fernando back into the USA when I picked up that piece of driftwood to bring home as a souvenir.  My bad.  Very bad for poor Fernando.   I didn’t know he was clinging to his casa, scared out of his wits.  He was completely hidden, and even managed to evade detection by customs when we flew home from Mexico to re-enter the USA.  I discovered the tiny, unhappy stowaway when I was unpacking my suitcase once we got home.  Since he was alive and needing care, I also decided he needed a name. I came up with the name Fernando, which means “brave traveler” in Spanish.   I guess Fernando was pretty brave to leave his homeland and family behind.  We promised to repatriate Fernando the following year, but sadly that didn’t happen.  The pandemic happened.  Fernando was stuck in the cold, dreary PNW that winter.  Although he was provided with a warm stove for heat, food, and water,  he didn’t live long enough to return to Baja.  Poor Fernando.  I tried to visualize a happy ending for him.  Viva Mexico!  

Fernando was very happy living on the beach in Los Cabos. His favorite activity was to broil himself in the sun while reading Gringo Daily.

Fernando found himself on an involuntary trip when the tourist picked up his driftwood casa to bring home as a souvenir. Poor Fernando.

He was miserable on the flight – leaving his home and heading to the very cold, very dreary, and very gray skies of the Pacific Northwest. Poor Fernando. No more sunshine. 😦

When he was discovered, Fernando’s hostess tried to make him as comfortable as possible. He got a nice warm spot by the fire.

Fernando dreamed of returning to Mexico. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but we hope that Fernando’s spirit made its way back to that sunny beach. RIP Fernando.

Here’s a morphological illustration of Fernando the Firebrat. While I was pretty sure Fernando goes into genus Thermobia, I could be wrong. Given that he was found outside on the beach, he may be in another genus within the family Lepismatidae.

The END. 🙂