Scurrying on the branches of an ancient tree in the subtropical rainforests of Australia. If you looked carefully through a telescope, you would discover hundreds of little spots are moving quickly like asteroids. These mysterious creatures are Leaf-cutter ants.

These insects can carry twenty times their body weight, but more interestingly, they could cut leaves, grass, or flowers into tiny pieces. Why? You may ask. The goal of these ants is to provide enough food for a special type of fungus living underground called leucoagaricus. Leucoagaricus work these leaf cutter ants like slaves, so that these ants can provide leaves as food for their host. The miniature holes on the heads of leaf cutter ants start to sniff, and gasp about the elaborate scent in the rain forest. These ants are curious about the discoveries of leaves. Suddenly, the two thin silks on the head of ants wag a little. Next, groups of ants rush underneath the plants, then tiptoed and grab the hair of the stem up the plant. They climbed and grabbed the little hair on the stem of the plant. Soon, they reached the tip of leaf and use their tiny mouths to bite the vital leaves to little pieces.

After collecting sufficient leaves, the ants start to deliver the food to leucoagaricus. They go through holes and often had to walk through mud. Ultimately, they achieve the demand of the fungus. Fungus and ants help each other, like a peaceful cooperation.

Eventually, we know it’s a symbiotic relationship between leucoagaricus and leafcutter ants, but sometimes the leucoagaricus will make strange commands which may injure itself to the leaf cutter ants. When leucoagaricus diffuses its body part to every corner of the underground cave which the fungus lives in, then the leucoagaricus will command the leaf cutter ants to deliver some bixa leaves back which help the leucargaricus to reduce its size. The ants start their mission, they arrive at the root of the fast-growing bixa tree and use their legs and mandibles to climb up the stem of the bixa trees until they reach the cusp of the bixa leaves. Later, the leaf cutter ants’ mandibles work like a master knife, they can cut the leaves into several hundred tiny pieces, and some of the stinky, squeezing toxic chemical liquid come out from the central of the leaves and conglutinate on the surface of the leaves. The ants finish their work, and the leucoagaricus starts to shrink, and the cave has been recovered to its original appearance.

These two species are allies. There are hundreds and thousands of phenomena like this in the nature. For example, farmers and livestock. Nature always performs amazing wonders for humanity. Every relationship and presence of every species are essential for natural environment, ecological preservation, and maintenance of health eco-systems.