Bug FAQAtta sexdens
Atta sexdens · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae
Source: Wikipedia
Soldier ants are the largest workers, with a 3 mm head and sharp mandibles that can bite through skin. These ants build underground colonies with a surface mound and are major agricultural pests, stripping leaves from many rainforest plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
They have sharp spikes or hooks on their heads and midsections that deter predators.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Soldier ants have a head width of about 3 mm and large, sharp mandibles.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
They are major insect pests, causing billions of dollars in crop damage by quickly defoliating plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Their bite can easily penetrate human skin. Soldier ants are only present in colonies with more than 100 000 workers.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Their colonies live mainly underground and create a mound of excavated soil on the surface. Colonies often become the focal point of a large clearing in the jungle.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Leafcutter ants cut leaves to grow fungus, which is their main food source. They consume 12 to 17 % of leaf mass produced in neotropical rainforests, making them important herbivores.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
From late October to mid-December, colonies produce winged virgin queens and males.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
They are native to the Americas, from Texas down to northern Argentina, but are not found in Chile.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Other Atta species such as A. texana and A. cephalotes behave similarly.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What damage do they cause to crops?
They strip leaves from many rainforest plants, accounting for up to 17 % of leaf loss and causing major agricultural losses.
Source: Wikipedia
When are winged queens and males produced?
Colonies produce winged virgin queens and males from late October to mid-December.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Formicidae)
Eastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your home
Red Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan sting
American Winter AntPrenolepis imparis
Argentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerous
Immigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan sting
Odorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your homeSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atta_sexdens
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Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.