Acromyrmex versicolor
Desert Leafcutter Ant
Photo: Emmett Collins-Sussman, via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
🐜 At a glance
Origin: South-western USA, NW Mexico; desert washes, around large bushes and trees
Fungus chamber: 23–26°C; never above about 27°C. Advanced Heating System 4W at 25°C under ¼ of the chamber
Outworld temperature: 18°C night, up to 28°C day; by day like the fungus chamber or a degree or two cooler
Humidity: Fungus chamber 80–90%; outworld about 50%, waste area 30–40%
Winter: No hibernation; slows down; keep warm and humid
Moving in: Straight into the setup; after up to 5 hours unopened; colony with fungus only
Size: Queen about 10 mm; workers 3–6 mm, rusty red, spiny
Colony: One or several queens; A few thousand ants when mature
📖 About this species
A rusty red, spiny leafcutter from the Sonoran and Mojave deserts that farms a fungus garden on leaves, flowers and petals. A North American ant, not sold by Best Ants UK and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK.
🍯 Feeding
Fungus food: fresh bramble, rose, oak and clover leaves, flowers and dried rose petals; lightly misted, never soaked
Extras: small pieces of apple, banana or grape; a tiny drop of Ant Honey or Ant Nectar now and then; oat flakes only in an emergency
Remove old, dried leaves after 2 days. Pesticide-free only. No protein jelly or insects needed
💧 Watering the nest
Distilled or purified water only, never tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled.
Pipette a few drops into the damp part of the fungus chamber, away from the fungus, whenever the meter drops below 80%; never drip on the fungus, never puddles. Check every day.
Never water the outworld (about 50%); keep the waste area dry (30–40%).
🏠 Setting up the ant farm
No Best Ants UK ant farm for leafcutters: humid fungus chamber with a digital meter, foraging area, dry waste area emptied weekly
Heating: Advanced Heating System Small 4W at 25°C under one quarter of the fungus chamber, on the side away from the water; never above about 27°C
Arrives in a fungus container (sometimes the fungus separately): unopened up to 5 hours, then straight into the setup
Escape risk: strong climbers. PTFE Fluon band on the top inner edge of the outworld lid, reapplied every 2–4 weeks
💡 Good to know
North American ant: not sold by Best Ants UK, and possibly illegal or impossible to import to the UK. We never encourage importing ants
No sting, but a painful bite: never handle. Overheating kills the fungus
Never release it. Can't keep it? See our ant adoption page
⭐ Golden rules | Never break these
🚫 Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and never expose them to abrupt temperature changes.
🚫 Never use gel ant farms, Ytong or concrete nests, or DIY nests.
🚫 Never use tap, rain or mineral water, even boiled.
🚫 Never move a colony into a nest too early, and never tip or shake ants out of their tube.
🚫 Never release ants into the wild. If you can no longer keep a colony, visit our ants adoption page and ask us whether we can adopt it.
🛒 Recommended for this species
📚 These care notes cover the essentials only. Please read the full ant farm setup guide and our Acromyrmex versicolor care guide from A to Z. Questions? Message us through our contact form and we will be happy to help. 💚
Written and reviewed by the Best Ants UK team, keeping ants since 1997.