How to Care for Acromyrmex versicolor | The Desert Leafcutter Ant Guide
Photo: Emmett Collins-Sussman, via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
A leafcutter from the desert: Acromyrmex versicolor lives in the hot, dry Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the south-western USA and north-western Mexico. The workers cut leaves and flowers and carry them home to feed a fungus garden, and the fungus feeds the colony.
Its colonies stay far smaller than the giant Atta leafcutters, so you can follow the whole farm up close. This guide explains Acromyrmex versicolor care step by step, from arrival to a healthy fungus garden.
Acromyrmex versicolor is a North American ant, and Best Ants UK does not sell it. North American ants may be illegal or impossible to import into the UK, and we never encourage importing ants. This guide is for keepers where it is native, and for anyone curious.
We have kept ants since 1997. Leafcutters are an expert species, so read this guide from A to Z before you begin.
👉 In a hurry? Download our free Acromyrmex versicolor care sheet (PDF) or open the Acromyrmex versicolor care sheet page for the key facts at a glance.
Acromyrmex versicolor at a Glance
Also known as: the desert leafcutter ant
Origin: south-western USA (Arizona, California, Texas) and north-western Mexico
Sold by Best Ants UK: no, it is a North American species
Keeping level: Expert
Queen: about 10mm, rusty red to brown
Workers: about 3 to 6mm, rusty red to brown, with spines on the back
Colony: one or several queens, a few thousand ants when mature
Main food: leaves, flowers and petals for the fungus garden
Fungus chamber temperature: 23 to 26°C, never above about 27°C
Fungus chamber humidity: 80 to 90%
Waste area: dry, about 30 to 40% humidity
Moving in: straight into the ant farm after up to 5 hours of settling; always a whole colony with its fungus, never a lone queen
Winter: no hibernation, but the colony slows down
Meet the Desert Leafcutter
Versicolor means "of changing colour", and the workers range from rusty red to darker brown. Look closely at a worker's back and you will see sharp spines. Workers come in a range of sizes, from small fungus gardeners to larger leaf cutters.
In the wild, this leafcutter nests in desert washes, often around large bushes and trees. Deep underground, the chamber floors stay damp even when the desert above is bone dry.
The workers cut leaves and flowers of desert plants, such as mesquite and palo verde, chew them into a pulp and grow their fungus on it. The fungus forms small food bodies that the ants harvest for the queen and brood (the eggs, larvae and pupae).
Mating flights happen in the summer rainy season, from late July to August, early in the morning after rain. Several young queens often start a colony together, and scientists have found that one of them takes on the risky job of foraging for the group.
When Your Ants Arrive
Leafcutter colonies arrive in a fungus container, with the ants and their fungus garden together. Sometimes the ants come in a small container of their own and the fungus is supplied separately.
The most important step: leave the parcel completely unopened, exactly as it arrived, at room temperature for up to 5 hours. Leafcutters need this time to settle, because abrupt temperature changes make ants seriously unwell.
After that, open the parcel, check the queen is safe and sound, and move the colony into its ant farm setup straight away. Leafcutters must not wait in their travel container, so have the setup warm, humid and ready before the parcel arrives.
If the fungus came in its own container, place it gently in the fungus chamber or connect its container to it, then let the ants in right next to their garden. Move the fungus as little as possible, and never shake, tip or squeeze it.
🍃 Offer fresh, lightly misted leaves or petals as soon as the ants are in their setup. The fungus garden needs them to keep growing.
Still workers or a motionless queen after delivery are almost always delivery stress. Look at the queen's antennae: moving antennae mean she is fine. Almost all recover within 4 to 5 days.
Don't worry if part of the fungus garden looks damaged. Losing up to a third of the fungus in transit is normal. A small healthy piece is enough: with the right warmth, humidity and fresh leaves, the ants rebuild it.
Always a Colony, Never a Lone Queen
Leafcutters are only kept as a colony: the queen, her workers and their fungus garden, together. A queen on her own can't tend the fungus, and the fungus is the colony's only food.
Once the colony is in, leave the fungus garden to the ants. They move and rebuild it themselves, piece by piece. All you do is keep the conditions right and the leaves coming.
The Right Setup for Acromyrmex versicolor
Best Ants UK doesn't offer an ant farm for leafcutters. Experienced keepers build a setup with three connected areas: a warm, humid fungus chamber, a foraging area (outworld) where you give the leaves, and a separate dry waste area.
The fungus chamber needs a digital humidity and temperature meter, because with leafcutters the humidity must be right every single day. Plan for more room in all three areas as the colony grows.
The ants carry used leaf pulp, old fungus and dead workers to the waste area. Empty it gently about once a week with long tweezers, before it smells or goes mouldy, and never put anything from it back into the fungus chamber.
Healthy fungus is white and spongy. If it turns yellow or orange, it is too wet; if it shrinks and darkens, it is too dry.
Keep the fungus chamber dark. Lift its cover only briefly, about once a day for 2 to 3 minutes, ideally at night, and take colony photos once a month at most.
Place the setup in normal daylight, never direct sunlight. Avoid windows, radiators and heaters, vibrating surfaces, speakers and TVs, busy walkways and rooms with strong smells such as the kitchen.
Temperature and Heating
Keep the fungus chamber at 23 to 26°C, all year round. The ants come from the desert, but their fungus lives deep underground and hates overheating. Above about 27°C the fungus suffers, so too much heat is as dangerous as too little.
A UK home is cooler than that for most of the year, so leafcutters need gentle, steady heating.
👉 We recommend the Advanced Heating System Small 4W, with its digital thermostat. Set it to 25°C and place it under one quarter of the fungus chamber, on the side away from where you add water, so the ants can choose where to sit. Never set it higher.
Keep the outworld at about 18°C overnight up to 28°C by day. By day it should ideally match the fungus chamber or be a degree or two cooler. If the fungus chamber is heated, warm the outworld too, because a big gap confuses the ants.
Water and Humidity
Keep the fungus chamber at 80 to 90% humidity. If the fungus dries out, the colony starves. Use distilled or purified water only. Never use tap water, rainwater or bottled mineral water, even boiled: they cause mould.
Add water with a pipette, a few drops at a time, to the damp part of the fungus chamber, away from the fungus. Never let water drip onto the fungus itself, and never let it stand in puddles.
With a digital meter in the fungus chamber, water whenever the fungus chamber falls below 80%. Leafcutters need much more humidity than most ants, so check the meter every day.
Never water the outworld; keep it at about 50% humidity. Keep the waste area dry, at about 30 to 40%. The only water in the outworld is a fine mist on the leaves just before feeding.
Feeding Your Leafcutter Colony
🍃 Fresh plant material is the main food, all the time. The ants cut it up and feed it to the fungus. Bramble (blackberry), rose, oak and clover leaves all work well, along with flowers and petals. Mist leaves lightly first, never soak them.
A busy colony can use a big handful of leaves in a week, so plan a clean, pesticide-free source. Only use plant material free from pesticides and road dirt. Remove old, dried-out leaves after 2 days, before mould can start.
🌸 Dried rose petals are a favourite with keepers of this species. Our dried Dandelion Leaves, Rose Petals and Blue Mallow Flowers are also safe for the fungus. Alternate them with fresh leaves. Use oat flakes only in an emergency.
🍎 Small pieces of apple, banana or grape are welcome extras. Put fruit on a piece of tin foil or in a 👉 small feeding dish in the outworld.
🍯 Now and then, a tiny drop of our 👉 organic ant honey or 👉 Ant Nectar on tin foil gives the workers extra energy. Both are far better than sugar water or home-made mixes.
🥩 Leafcutters don't need protein jelly or insects. Their fungus makes the protein the queen and brood need.
Think ahead for the UK winter. Bramble often keeps its leaves through a mild winter, so find a clean, pesticide-free source before the cold months.
Keep Mites Out of Your Colony
Blood-sucking mites are a threat to every ant colony, and they are not rare. They often arrive with bird seed from local shops and off-licences, dried mealworms, and live food from pet shops or online, where about half carries mites.
Leafcutters don't need any of those foods. Buy ant food only from established, reputable ant-keeping suppliers. At Best Ants UK we clean our foods before dispatch, check every colony twice a month, and check each colony again before it leaves us.
Now and then, look at your queen with a magnifying glass. Tiny white or reddish specks on her joints and legs, together with ants dying fast, are a warning sign of blood-sucking mites.
Stopping Escapes
Desert leafcutters explore constantly and climb very well. Paint a band of 👉 PTFE Fluon escape barrier around the top inner edge of the outworld lid. The ants slip off it and can't climb out.
PTFE wears off as the ants keep testing the same spots. For up to about 100 ants, reapply it roughly every 4 weeks. For 300 to 500 ants or more, reapply it about every 2 weeks. Never shake the bottle; roll it gently instead.
Winter Care
Acromyrmex versicolor has no true hibernation. In winter the colony slows down, the fungus may shrink a little and the queen lays fewer eggs. That is normal, because its biological clock can't be tricked.
Keep the fungus chamber at 23 to 26°C and humid, and keep offering fresh plant material all winter. Never put ants in a fridge, shed or garage, and avoid any abrupt temperature change.
Can I Release My Leafcutter Ants?
No. A colony raised indoors won't survive outside, and a North American ant doesn't belong in the wild here. If you ever can't keep your colony any more, 👉 visit our ant adoption page and let us know. We'll see whether we can take it in.
Frequently Asked Questions | FAQ
Is Acromyrmex versicolor good for beginners?
No, it is an expert species. The fungus garden needs steady warmth, very high humidity and fresh plant material all the time, and a colony can fail fast if conditions slip. Start with a beginner species such as Lasius niger or Messor barbarus first.
Can I buy Acromyrmex versicolor in the UK?
Best Ants UK does not sell Acromyrmex versicolor. It is a North American ant, and it may be illegal or impossible to import into the UK. We never encourage importing ants.
What do Acromyrmex versicolor eat?
The ants eat only their fungus. They feed the fungus with fresh leaves, flowers and petals. Bramble, rose, oak and clover leaves and dried rose petals work well, with small pieces of fruit as extras.
Can I keep an Acromyrmex versicolor queen on her own?
No. Leafcutters are only kept as a colony with its fungus garden. A queen on her own can't tend the fungus, and the fungus is the colony's only food.
What temperature do Acromyrmex versicolor need?
Keep the fungus chamber at 23 to 26°C, and never above about 27°C, because too much heat kills the fungus. In most UK homes that means an Advanced Heating System under one quarter of the fungus chamber, set to 25°C.
Do Acromyrmex versicolor hibernate?
No. They have no true hibernation, but the colony and its fungus slow down in winter. Keep them warm and humid and keep offering fresh plant material all year.
Do Acromyrmex versicolor sting?
No, they have no sting, but they can give a painful bite. Never handle them, and keep the outworld lid closed.
New to Ant Keeping?
Leafcutters are a goal for experienced keepers. If you are just starting out, learn the basics with a beginner species first.
👉 Our Angie ant farm starter kit comes with a Messor barbarus colony, harvester seeds and a nest with its own pre-installed humidity and temperature meter. 👉 Explore all our free ant care sheets.
