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Atta mexicana
Worker of Atta mexicana at Montreal Insectarium
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Genus:	Atta
Species:	A. mexicana
Binomial name
Atta mexicana (F. Smith, 1858)

Atta mexicana is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Atta. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced attines (fungus-growing ants) within the tribe Attini.

Description

The queen is approximately 30 mm long, and dark brown. Workers are dark brown, with thorns. Soldiers grow up to 18 mm, and are well-fortified.

The ants cut leaves and grow a basidiomycete fungus called Leucoagaricus gongylophorus (Agaricaceae) with them. Oleic acid is one of their undertaking triggers.

Distribution

A. mexicana is found in Mexico (where is commonly called hormiga chicatana, hormiga podadora de hoja/desert ant and mochomo), and crosses into Arizona, United States.

This species is highly adaptive, and thrives in such urban areas as Puerto Vallarta. Densities of A. mexicana nests are very high in numerous areas, including the resort community of Nuevo Vallarta.

Culinary use

The species is found in various locations of central and southern Mexico during the start of the rainy season, when the soil becomes wet and the ants leave for their nuptial flight. That time of the year is the most active for the chicatanas, during which they clean their anthill and create new colonies, becoming very abundant. In Chiapas, for example, they are harvested from late May to early July. In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, they are known as nucú and are prepared in a stew with the same name; in Chiapa de Corzo and Ocosingo they are respectively called nacasmá and cocosh. They are also widely known in Veracruz, Oaxaca, the mountainous areas of Guerrero, Guanajuato, Puebla, Morelos, and Edomex.

When consumed as snacks (botanas), they are fried with olive oil or toasted on a comal, usually with salt, lemon, and hot sauce, and traditionally accompany the Pox. They are also fried in tacos. In Maya regions, they are stewed in chilmole.

In Mixtec tradition, they are the main ingredient of a sauce called salsa de chicatanas, which is also prepared with chili pepper, onion and garlic and smeared on cooked meat or cheese tortillas. There are several variations of that sauce, such as the one prepared with chile de árbol by the Zoque people of Jamiltepec, the one made with coastal chili in Pinotepa Nacional, and one prepared with guajillo chili in the Mixteca Poblana. In Veracruz, they are included in a pipián called tlatonile.

Gallery

• Workers of Atta mexicana at Montreal Insectarium
• Atta mexicana at Montreal Insectarium
• Profile view of ant Atta mexicana
• Head view of a soldier ant of Atta mexicana
• Dorsal view of worker ant of Atta mexicana

See also

• List of leafcutter ants
• Entomophagy – Practice of eating insects by organisms
• Entomophagy in humans – Practice of eating insects in human cultures
• Insects as food – Use of insects as food for humans
• List of edible insects by country
• Chahuis – Mexican name for edible beetles
• Chapulines – Mexican dish of grasshoppers
• Escamol – Edible larvae and pupae of ants
• Jumiles – Common name for certain true bugs
• Maguey worm – Edible caterpillars that infest maguey
• Mezcal worm – Insect larva added for flavor to mezcal

References

1. "Species: Atta mexicana". AntWeb. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
2. "Ants Kalytta - Atta mexicana". Archived from the original on 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
3. Espinoza, César; Izquierdo, Inés Zavala; Couttolenc, Alan; Landa-Cadena, Gandhi; Valenzuela, Jorge; Trigos, Ángel (2017). "In vitro isolation and identification of Leucoagaricus gongylophorus from Atta mexicana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fungal garden". Revista Mexicana de Micología. 46. ISSN 0187-3180.
4. López-Riquelme, Germán Octavio; Fanjul-Moles, María Luisa; Cruz-López, Leopoldo; Malo, Edi A. (2006-11-01). "Antennal olfactory sensitivity in response to task-related odours of three castes of the ant Atta mexicana (hymenoptera: formicidae)". Physiological Entomology. 31 (4): 353–360. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3032.2006.00526.x. ISSN 0307-6962. S2CID 84890901.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). www1.inecol.edu.mx. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. Mintzer, Alex (1995). "Diet of the Leafcutting Ant, Atta Mexicana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in a Sonoran Desert Habitat". Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science. 28 (1/2): 33–40. JSTOR 40024299.
7. Wetterer, James; Himler, A.G.; Yospin, M.M. (2001-01-01). "Foraging ecology of the desert leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex versicolor, in Arizona (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Sociobiology. 37: 633–649.
8. http://web.ecologia.unam.mx/laboratorios/fmolina/pdf/libro/Capitulo%2015%20Insectos.pdf
9. Authorman, John (1999), Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions, Publishinghouse, ISBN 978-0-520-26199-0 ISBN 0-520-26199-2, p. 170
10. "Behavioral plasticity in soldiers of Atta mexicana and its adaptive significance in urban environments". Archived from the original on 2011-01-07. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
11. "La Hormiga Chicatana". Mundo Hormigas (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 June 2020.
12. ^ R. Muñoz. "Hormiga chicatana". Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana (in Spanish). Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
13. "Hormiga "chicatana", un gourmet chiapaneco" (video) (in Spanish). Azteca Noticias. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
14. "Salsa de chicatanas / como preparar" (video) (in Spanish). Mis Recetas y Más Con Ivette. 2 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2 June 2020.

Further reading

• Sunjian A and H Li (2005). Atta mexicana in the resort community of Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Notes from Underground 11(1).

External links

• Images

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Other protein dishes	Chahuis Chapulines Escamoles Huitlacoche Jumiles Maguey worm
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• Atta (genus)
• Insects described in 1858
• Hymenoptera of North America
• Edible insects