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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

10:11
Collection and Long-Term Maintenance of Leaf-Cutting Ants (Atta) in Laboratory Conditions
Published on: August 30, 2022
Extended phenotype: nematodes turn ants into bird-dispersed fruits
D P Hughes1, D J C Kronauer, J J Boomsma
1Centre for Social Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Denmark. dphughes@bi.ku.dk
Current Biology : CB
|April 10, 2008
Abstract:
A recent study has discovered a novel extended phenotype of a nematode which alters its ant host to resemble ripe fruit. The infected ants are in turn eaten by frugivorous birds that disperse the nematode's eggs.

