myrmepropagandist@futurebird@sauropods.win
The fungi farmed by ants (Leucoagaricus gongylophorus) also produces mushrooms when their colonies die out. This fungi can't survive without the ants and the ants propagate it by carrying it with them when they found new nests:
So what is the purpose of the mushrooms?
Is it just a hold-over from the days before the fungi was dependent on ants?
I've been trying to find out if you can eat the ones that grow on old ant nests.
https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/111311901058937024
myrmepropagandist@futurebird@sauropods.win
"gongylophorus" isn't a bad name for the fungi of the Atta. The ants have domesticated them to make gongylidia which are like little underground ant treats that form on the mycelium. So it's a gongylophorus fungi, or a fungi that makes gelatinous translucent protein packed ant treats.
And we think we are so slick with our beans and corn and apples.