plural attines
Definition of attine
: 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.
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The first known use of attine was in 1922
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