Atta texana
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Texas leafcutter ant (Atta texana) is a species of fungus-farming ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is found in Texas, Louisiana, and north-eastern Mexico. Other common names include town ant, parasol ant, fungus ant, cut ant, and night ant. It harvests leaves from over 200 plant species, and is considered a major pest of agricultural and ornamental plants, as it can defoliate a citrus tree in less than 24 hours. Every colony has several queens and up to 2 million workers. Nests are built in well-drained, sandy or loamy soil, and may reach a depth of 6 m (20 ft), have 1000 entrance holes, and occupy 420 m2 (4,500 ft2).
Workers measure 3 to 18 mm (0.12 to 0.71 in) in length, and are highly polymorphic. The back of the thorax has three pairs of spines. The ant has a narrow waist and is rusty brown in color. Its closely related cousin, Atta mexicana has colonies up to 8 million, and the queen for A. mexicana is larger than the M. texana queen. Atta mexicana is only able to have a single queen, while A. texana may have multiple queens (often 2). This makes the species polygyne and because of this trait, A. texana can form massive super colonies with upwards of 10... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Texas Leafcutter Ant sighting in Houston on a given day, based on 97 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 162nd most-seen of the 1057 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and October–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Texas Leafcutter Ant in Houston on a given day, against under 5% in April and June–September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Texas Leafcutter Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Texas Leafcutter Ant sightings, Houston ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Austin (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Texas Leafcutter Ant that you can see in Houston (family Formicidae, Ants) are Red Imported Fire Ant (about 10%), Graceful Twig Ant (about 10%) and Eastern Black Carpenter Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Texas Leafcutter Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Houston (97 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
