Higher-attine
Guides
Trachymyrmex arizonensis
Arizona Fungus-farming Ant
Trachymyrmex arizonensis is a higher-attine fungus-growing ant native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The species cultivates symbiotic fungi as its primary food source, showing strong partner fidelity with its fungal cultivar lineage. Phylogenetic studies reveal a pattern of 'one-to-one with some exceptions' in its ant-fungal specificity, with high fidelity to its own fungal subclade and rare instances of horizontal fungal transfer between colonies. Males exhibit distinctive morphology with reduced head size relative to body, a trait shared with other attine ants.