Texas Leaf-cutting Ants, Atta texana
One night at Catalina State Park, near Tucson, Arizona, when I was hunting for Wolf Spiders, some motion caught my eye at the base of an Acacia tree near our campsite. There was a long line of medium-sized ants marching up and down the tree trunk. About one in 6 ants was carrying a small Acacia leaf. 
Acacia trees have compound leaves. Each leaflet turns out to be the perfect size for one ant to manage almost effortlessly. At the base of the tree was the entrance to their nest. Some ants carried their leaf into the nest, but most dumped their harvest at the entrance.
As you probably know, Leaf-cutting Ants don’t actually eat the leaves they harvest. Rather, the leaves are used as compost. They’re the growing medium for the particular species of fungus they cultivate. The mold consumes the leaves and the ants harvest the mold to feed their colony. Pretty sophisticated!
Jay
The waterfront of the park is filled with impressive dragonflies, and we’ve also found some interesting tiger beetles. Perhaps the most awe-inspiring (and fear-inspiring) invertebrate we’ve seen is the Red backed spider. One of the most exciting animals to be found is the armadillos. These interesting vertebrates have a similar goal to us, and they could be found shuffling through the undergrowth searching for insects, barely bothering to notice us searching alongside them. Soon we will be experiencing a change in the climate as we head to dryer areas of Texas, and this change will be accompanied by an exciting change of flora and fauna.
