Ants are important agents of seed dispersal and they can
play a fundamental role in the establishment and survival
of plants (Beattie 1985). Leaf-cutting or fungus-growing
ants (Myrmicinae: Attini) are dominant elements of the
ant fauna throughout the neotropics. They collect different
types of vegetative and reproductive plant material that
serve as substrate for underground fungus gardens,which
are the only food source for their larvae (Stradling 1991).