Interactions With Humans
In some parts of their range, leafcutter ants can be quite a nuisance to humans, defoliating crops and damaging roads and farmland with their nest-making activities. For example, some Atta species are capable of defoliating an entire citrus tree in less than 24 hours. Deterring the leafcutter ant Acromyrmex lobicornis from defoliating crops has been found simpler than first expected. Collecting the refuse from the nest and placing it over seedlings or around crops resulted in a deterrent effect over a period of 30 days.
Read more about this topic: Leafcutter Ant
Famous quotes containing the words interactions with, interactions and/or humans:
“In our interactions with people, a benevolent hypocrisy is frequently required—acting as though we do not see through the motives of their actions.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“In our interactions with people, a benevolent hypocrisy is frequently required—acting as though we do not see through the motives of their actions.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)