''Atta laevigata'' ( Smith, 1858) is one of about a dozen species of leafcutter ants in the genus '' Atta'', found from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and south to

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

. This species is one of the largest leafcutter species, and can be recognized by the smooth and shining head of the largest workers in a colony. ''Atta laevigata'' is known in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

as ''hormiga culona'' (literally translated as "big-assed ant"), or as ''sikisapa'' in Peru, ''zompopo de mayo'' in Central America, ''bachaco culón'' in Venezuela, ''akango'' in Paraguay, and ''chicatana'' in Mexico. The colony sizes of these ants are made up of around 3.5 million individuals.

Cuisine

The ''hormiga culona'' has been eaten for hundreds of years, as a tradition inherited from pre-Colombian cultures as the Guanes. The ants are harvested for about nine weeks every year, at the time of the rainy season, which is when they make the

nuptial flight Nuptial flight is an important phase in the reproduction of most ant, termite, and some bee species. It is also observed in some fly species, such as '' Rhamphomyia longicauda''. During the flight, virgin queens mate with males and then land t ...

; ''A. laevigata'' are used as traditional gifts in weddings. There are local beliefs that the ants are

aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocai ...

s. The harvesting is done by local peasants who are often wounded by the ants, since the ants have strong mandibles. Only the

queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

are collected, because the other ants are not considered edible. The

legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element c ...

and

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...

are removed; after that, the ants are soaked in salty water and roasted in ceramic pans. The main centers of production of ants are the municipalities of San Gil and

Barichara Barichara is a town and municipality in the Santander Department in northeastern Colombia. In 2010, in recognition of its history, architecture, and touristic potential, Barichara was declared a Colombian '' Pueblo Patrimonio'' (heritage town). ...

. From there, the trade of ants is extended to

Bucaramanga Bucaramanga () is the capital and largest city of the department of Santander, Colombia. Bucaramanga has the fifth-largest economy by GDP in Colombia, has the lowest unemployment rate and has the ninth-largest population in the country, with 6 ...

and

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, where the packages containing ants are often seen during the season. The exportation of this product is mainly made to

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England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Analyses conducted at the Industrial University of Santander about the nutritional value of the ants show high level of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, very low levels of

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branche ...

, and an overall high nutritional value. ''Atta laevigata'' is a temporary source of income for the poor peasants of the area. This and the competition for resources with more aggressive species of leafcutter ants ("arrieras") cause a progressive decrease of the population of ants, as estimated in recent studiesSantamaria ''et al.'' 2005 in a remaining of only a sixth of the existent population twelve years ago, and for this reason there is concern about its conservation status.

References

External links

*
Crunchy, Big-Butt Ants Entice Gourmands
In Discovery Channel animal news. Retrieved December 26, 2006. {{Taxonbar, from=Q292592 Atta (genus) Edible insects Colombian cuisine Hymenoptera of South America Insects described in 1858 Taxa named by Frederick Smith (entomologist)