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News Release 09-228
Ants, Like Humans, Use Bacteria to Make Their Gardens Grow
Symbiosis between ants and bacteria explains how leaf-cutter ants dominate tropical environments
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![Photo of leaf-cutter ants on a leaf.](/news/mmg/media/images/ants1_f.jpg)
Leaf-cutter ants doing what they do best--with the help of bacteria.
Credit: University of Wisconsin
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![Photo of leaf-cutter ants carrying bits of leaves.](/news/mmg/media/images/ants2_f.jpg)
Leaf-cutter ants in the Amazon have four times more biomass than all land animals combined.
Credit: University of Wisconsin
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![Photo of a queen leaf-cutter ant.](/news/mmg/media/images/ants3_f.jpg)
A queen leaf-cutter ant rules in the tropical "garden."
Credit: University of Wisconsin
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![Photo of a leaf-cutter ant.](/news/mmg/media/images/ants4_f.jpg)
Underground leaf-cutter nests, some the size of small houses, may harbor ants in the millions.
Credit: University of Wisconsin
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![Cover of the Nov. 20, 2009, issue of Science magazine.](/news/mmg/media/images/ants5_f.jpg)
Researchers published their findings in the Nov. 20, 2009, issue of the journal Science.
Credit: Copyright AAAS 2009
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