Definition of attine
plural attines
: any of various myrmicine ants (tribe Attini) found chiefly in tropical America that culture fungi for food
- Leaf-cutters and all the other attines cultivate various kinds of fungi for colony members to eat.
- —Susan Milius, Science News, 21 Nov. 1998
- Species of the lower attines do not cut and use leaves as the main substrate for their symbiotic fungus, but rather gather a large variety of dead vegetable matter, including bits of leaves, plant seeds, and fruits, as well as insect feces and corpses.
- —Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson, The Leafcutter Ants: Civilization by Instinct, 2011
Note:
The tribe Attini comprises ants of the genus Atta, known as leaf-cutting ants, and closely related genera.
—
attine
adjective-
- The leaf-cutters represent the most advanced division of a powerful insect tribe called the attine ants, 200 species that engage in a mutually convenient arrangement with fungi.
- —Natalie Angier, New York Times, 13 Dec. 1994
