leafcutter

Leafcutter is a common name used for several insects that cut leaves for nest construction or cultivation. The best-known examples are leafcutter ants in the genera Atta and Acromyrmex, within the subfamily Myrmicinae. These ants build underground nests and cultivate a fungus garden on freshly cut plant material. Workers cut circular or elongated leaf pieces, transport them to the nest, and chew them to create a substrate for the fungal cultivar Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, which serves as the primary food source for the colony. Leafcutter ant colonies are highly organized, with specialized castes and large worker populations; queens start new colonies after nuptial flights. They are primarily tropical to subtropical, found across the Americas, with some species extending into temperate zones.

Leafcutter bees, in the family Megachilidae and especially the genus Megachile, are solitary bees that cut leaf pieces to construct nest cells. Females carry pollen on specialized abdominal hairs. Nesting sites include hollow stems, abandoned cavities, wood crevices, and other sheltered spaces, sometimes using prepared artificial cavities. Each nest cell is provisioned with nectar and pollen before the larva develops, and the leaf pieces help form the cell walls and partitions. Leafcutting bees are important pollinators for many flowering plants and are commonly used in managed pollination programs.

In common usage, leafcutter may refer to these groups or to the leaf-cutting behavior exhibited by various insects. The term does not denote a single taxon but rather a behavioral characteristic observed in multiple lineages.