''Atta mexicana'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of leaf-cutter ant, a

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

ant of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Myrmicinae Myrmicinae is a subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily ...

of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Atta''. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced attines (fungus-growing ants) within the tribe Attini.

Description

The queen is approximately 30 mm long, and dark brown. Workers are dark brown, with short spines. The much larger soldiers grow up to 18 mm, and are even more armored with short spines. The ants cut leaves and grow a

basidiomycete Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basid ...

fungus called ''Leucoagaricus gongylophoru''s (

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

) with them.

Oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish due to the presence of impurities. In chemical terms, oleic acid is cl ...

is one of their undertaking triggers.

Distribution

''A. mexicana'' is found in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(where is commonly called hormiga chicatana, hormiga podadora de hoja/''desert ant'' and mochomo), and crosses into

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. This species is highly adaptive, and thrives in such urban areas as

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

. Densities of A. mexicana nests are very high in numerous areas, including the resort community of Nuevo Vallarta.

Culinary use

The species is found in various locations of central and southern Mexico during the start of the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

, when the soil becomes wet and the ants leave for their

nuptial flight Nuptial flight is an important phase in the reproduction of most ant, termite, and some bee species. It is also observed in some fly species, such as '' Rhamphomyia longicauda''. During the flight, virgin queens mate with males and then land ...

. That time of the year is the most active for the ''chicatanas'', during which they clean their anthill and create new colonies, becoming very abundant. In

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, for example, they are harvested from late May to early July. In

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez, or Tuxtla, (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexico, Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, which is the most developed and populous in the state. A busy govern ...

, they are known as ''nucú'' and are prepared in a stew with the same name; in Chiapa de Corzo and

Ocosingo Ocosingo is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Overview The northeastern boundary of the municipality is the Usumacinta River, along a portion where the river forms the international border ...

they are respectively called ''nacasmá'' and ''cocosh''. They are also widely known in

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

, the mountainous areas of

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

, and Edomex. When consumed as

snack A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...

s (''botanas''), they are fried with olive oil or toasted on a comal, usually with salt, lemon, and

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa (sauce), salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of Mass production, mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other ho ...

, and traditionally accompany the Pox. They are also fried in

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn tortilla, corn- or Flour tortilla, wheat-based tortilla topped with a Stuffing, filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and fing ...

s. In

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

regions, they are stewed in '' chilmole''. In

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...

tradition, they are the main ingredient of a sauce called '' salsa de chicatanas'', which is also prepared with

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

, onion and garlic and smeared on cooked meat or cheese ''

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread from Mesoamerica originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indi ...

s''. There are several variations of that sauce, such as the one prepared with chile de árbol by the

Zoque people The Zoque are an Indigenous people of Mexico, who are related to the Mixe. They speak various languages, also called Zoque, which has several branches and dialects. The Zoque consists of 41,609 people, according to the 2000 census. They live ma ...

of Jamiltepec, the one made with coastal chili in Pinotepa Nacional, and one prepared with guajillo chili in the Mixteca Poblana. In Veracruz, they are included in a '' pipián'' called '' tlatonile''.

Gallery

File:Formicidae - Atta mexicana.JPG, Workers of ''Atta mexicana'' at

Montreal Insectarium The Montreal Insectarium () is a natural history museum located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring a large quantity of insects from all around the world. It is the largest insect museum in North America and among the largest insectariums worl ...

File:Formicidae - Atta mexicana-3.JPG, ''Atta mexicana'' at

File:Atta mexicana casent0421377 profile 1.jpg, Profile view of ant ''Atta mexicana'' File:Atta mexicana casent0421379 head 1.jpg, Head view of a soldier ant of ''Atta mexicana'' File:Atta mexicana casent0421377 dorsal 1.jpg, Dorsal view of worker ant of ''Atta mexicana''

References

External links

Images
{{Mexican cuisine Atta (genus) Insects described in 1858 Hymenoptera of North America Edible insects