{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T18:22:47Z","timestamp":1778696567494,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"The Company of Biologists","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]],"date-time":"2023-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1687392000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":7,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008769","name":"University of W\u00fcrzburg","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008769","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Polymorphic leaf-cutting ants harvest leaf fragments that correlate in size with the workers' body size. When cutting, workers anchor their hind legs on the leaf edge and rotate, removing approximately semicircular fragments. Workers show behavioural plasticity and modify their leg extension while holding onto the leaf edge depending on, for instance, leaf toughness, cutting smaller fragments out of tough leaves. What sensory information workers use to control the cutting trajectory remains unknown. We investigated whether sensory information from both the leg contact with the leaf edge and from head movements underlies fragment size determination. In the laboratory, we recorded Atta sexdens workers cutting standardised \u00aeParafilm pseudoleaves of different thickness, and quantified cutting behaviour and body reach, i.e. the distance between the mandible and the anchored hind leg tarsus. Experimentally preventing contact with the leaf edge resulted in smaller fragments, evincing that workers control the cutting trajectory using information from the contact of the hind legs with the leaf edge. However, ants were able to cut fragments even when contact of all six legs with the edge was prevented, indicating the use of additional sensory information. Ablation of mechanosensory hairs at the neck joint alone did not influence fragment size determination, yet simultaneously preventing sensory feedback from both mechanosensory hairs and edge contact led to a loss of control over the cutting trajectory. Leaf-cutting ants, therefore, control their cutting trajectory using sensory information from both the leg contact with the leaf edge and the lateral bending of the head.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.244246","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]],"date-time":"2023-06-22T22:40:48Z","timestamp":1687473648000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Two feedback mechanisms involved in the control of leaf fragment size in leaf-cutting ants"],"prefix":"10.1242","volume":"226","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7437-2195","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniela","family":"R\u00f6mer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biocenter, University of W\u00fcrzburg Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology , , Am Hubland, 97074 W\u00fcrzburg , Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8102-0315","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca","family":"Exl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biocenter, University of W\u00fcrzburg Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology , , Am Hubland, 97074 W\u00fcrzburg , Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9258-3079","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Flavio","family":"Roces","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biocenter, University of W\u00fcrzburg Department of Behavioural Physiology and Sociobiology , , Am Hubland, 97074 W\u00fcrzburg , Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"237","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1017","DOI":"10.1093\/beheco\/arw007","article-title":"Gone with the wind: short- and long-term responses of leaf-cutting ants to the negative effect of wind on their foraging activity","volume":"27","author":"Alma","year":"2016","journal-title":"Behav. Ecol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1273","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.00888","article-title":"Stick insect locomotion in a complex environment: climbing over large gaps","volume":"207","author":"Blaesing","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e17667","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0017667","article-title":"Information needs at the beginning of foraging: grass-cutting ants trade off load size for a faster return to the nest","volume":"6","author":"Bollazzi","year":"2011","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"715","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01997240","article-title":"Variable load size-ant size matching in leaf-cutting ants, Atta colombica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)","volume":"8","author":"Burd","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Insect Behav."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"613","DOI":"10.1086\/285943","article-title":"Server system and queuing models of leaf harvesting by leaf-cutting ants","volume":"148","author":"Burd","year":"1996","journal-title":"Am. Nat."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"597","DOI":"10.1086\/285942","article-title":"Foraging performance by Atta colombica, a leaf-cutting ant","volume":"148","author":"Burd","year":"1996","journal-title":"Am. Nat."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"647","DOI":"10.2307\/3200","article-title":"Some factors involved in the selection of vegetable substrate by Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in tropical rain forest","volume":"41","author":"Cherrett","year":"1972","journal-title":"J. Anim. Ecol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"711","DOI":"10.2307\/1936208","article-title":"Species diversity and community organization in desert seed-eating ants","volume":"58","author":"Davidson","year":"1977","journal-title":"Ecology"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1007\/s00265-017-2412-3","article-title":"Motor flexibility in insects: adaptive coordination of limbs in locomotion and near-range exploration","volume":"72","author":"D\u00fcrr","year":"2018","journal-title":"Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.160.1.71","article-title":"Limitations on animal flight performance","volume":"160","author":"Ellington","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C11","first-page":"18","article-title":"Economics of grass-cutting ants","volume-title":"Fire Ants and Leaf-cutting Ants","author":"Fowler","year":"1986"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"398","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00169.2021","article-title":"Input of hair field afferents to a descending interneuron","volume":"126","author":"Jaske","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Neurophysiol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"579","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-1910(98)00053-5","article-title":"Nectar feeding by the ant Camponotus mus: intake rate and crop filling as a function of sucrose concentration","volume":"44","author":"Josens","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Insect Physiol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"708","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1469-8137.2010.03212.x","article-title":"Tissue-level leaf toughness, but not lamina thickness, predicts sapling leaf lifespan and shade tolerance of tropical tree species","volume":"186","author":"Kitajima","year":"2010","journal-title":"New Phytol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"524","DOI":"10.1086\/physzool.60.5.30156127","article-title":"Energetics of locomotion and load carriage and a model of the energy cost of foraging in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica Guer","volume":"60","author":"Lighton","year":"1987","journal-title":"Physiol. Zool."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C16","first-page":"1","article-title":"Observations on leaf-cutting ants","volume":"388","author":"Lutz","year":"1929","journal-title":"Am. Museum Novit."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1086\/282454","article-title":"On optimal use of a patchy environment","volume":"100","author":"Macarthur","year":"1966","journal-title":"Am. Nat."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1038\/198173a0","article-title":"Bristle fields: gravity receptors of some hymenoptera","volume":"198","author":"Markl","year":"1963","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.063594","article-title":"The energetics of running stability: costs of transport in grass-cutting ants depend on fragment shape","volume":"215","author":"Moll","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e52816","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0052816","article-title":"How load-carrying ants avoid falling over: mechanical stability during foraging in Atta vollenweideri grass-cutting ants","volume":"8","author":"Moll","year":"2013","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.2307\/2388446","article-title":"Leaf toughness affects leaf harvesting by the leaf cutter ant, Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)","volume":"21","author":"Nichols-Orians","year":"1989","journal-title":"Biotropica"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1080\/00218839.1982.11100531","article-title":"Honeybee foraging strategies at a food source in relation to its distance from the hive and the rate of sugar flow","volume":"21","author":"N\u00fa\u00f1ez","year":"1982","journal-title":"J. Apic. Res."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00176174","article-title":"Parasitic flies (Diptera: Phoridae) influence foraging rhythms and caste division of labor in the leaf-cutter ant Atta cephalotes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)","volume":"30","author":"Orr","year":"1992","journal-title":"Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1067","DOI":"10.1016\/j.anbehav.2006.11.005","article-title":"How a few help all: living pothole plugs speed prey delivery in the army ant Eciton burchellii","volume":"73","author":"Powell","year":"2007","journal-title":"Anim. Behav."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00194581","article-title":"Structure and kinematics of the prosternal organs and their influence on head position in the blowfly Calliphora erythrocephala Meig","volume":"171","author":"Preuss","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Comp. Physiol. A"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1007\/PL00001753","article-title":"Some factors determining size-matching in the harvester ant Messor barbarus: food type, transfer activity, recruitment rate and size-range","volume":"48","author":"Reyes-L\u00f3pez","year":"2001","journal-title":"Insectes Soc."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1007\/s10851-009-0158-x","article-title":"New resolution independent measures of circularity","volume":"35","author":"Ritter","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Math. Imaging Vis."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1181","DOI":"10.1016\/S0003-3472(05)80185-X","article-title":"Leaf-cutting ants cut fragment sizes in relation to the distance from the nest","volume":"40","author":"Roces","year":"1990","journal-title":"Anim. Behav."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C29","first-page":"251","article-title":"Information transfer and the organization of foraging in grass-and leaf-cutting ants","volume-title":"Food Exploitation by Social Insect: Ecological, Behavioral, and Theoretical Approaches","author":"Roces","year":"2009"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00317902","article-title":"Leaf density and a trade-off between load-size selection and recruitment behavior in the ant Atta cephalotes","volume":"97","author":"Roces","year":"1994","journal-title":"Oecologia"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"392","DOI":"10.1038\/373392a0","article-title":"Larger bites of leaf cutting ants","volume":"373","author":"Roces","year":"1995","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1006\/anbe.1993.1012","article-title":"Information about food quality influences load-size selection in recruited leaf-cutting ants","volume":"45","author":"Roces","year":"1993","journal-title":"Anim. Behav."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"401","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2311.1986.tb00319.x","article-title":"Load size selection by foraging leaf\u2013cutter ants (Atta cephalotes)","volume":"11","author":"Rudolph","year":"1986","journal-title":"Ecol. Entomol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"687","DOI":"10.1006\/anbe.2003.2242","article-title":"Assessment of nectar flow rate and memory for patch quality in the ant Camponotus rufipes","volume":"66","author":"Schilman","year":"2003","journal-title":"Anim. Behav."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2996","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2011.0126","article-title":"Active tactile exploration for adaptive locomotion in the stick insect","volume":"366","author":"Sch\u00fctz","year":"2011","journal-title":"Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"jeb199240","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.199240","article-title":"Large ants do not carry their fair share: maximal load-carrying performance of leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes)","volume":"222","author":"Segre","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3242","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.108167","article-title":"Spatial co-ordination of foot contacts in unrestrained climbing insects","volume":"217","author":"Theunissen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"R1022","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2016.06.070","article-title":"Mechanosensation and adaptive motor control in insects","volume":"26","author":"Tuthill","year":"2016","journal-title":"Curr. Biol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C39","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"423","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01240645","article-title":"Mechanisms affecting load size determination in Atta cephalotes L. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)","volume":"41","author":"Van Breda","year":"1994","journal-title":"Insectes Soc."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C40","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1038\/328247a0","article-title":"Altered geometry of webs in spiders with regenerated legs","volume":"328","author":"Vollrath","year":"1987","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C41","volume":"92","author":"Weber","year":"1972","journal-title":"Gardening Ants - the Attines. (Memoirs of the Amer Phil Society, Vol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1093\/beheco\/1.2.95","article-title":"Load-size determination in the leaf-cutting ant, Atta cephalotes","volume":"1","author":"Wetterer","year":"1990","journal-title":"Behav. Ecol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C43","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00165959","article-title":"Allometry and the geometry of leaf-cutting in Atta cephalotes","volume":"29","author":"Wetterer","year":"1991","journal-title":"Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol."},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C44","first-page":"5","article-title":"The natural history of leaf-cutting ants","volume-title":"Herbivory of Leaf-cutting Ants. Ecological Studies (Analysis and Synthesis)","author":"Wirth","year":"2003"},{"key":"2023062222053594200_JEB244246C45","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.02674","article-title":"Hair plate mechanoreceptors associated with body segments are not necessary for three-dimensional path integration in desert ants, Cataglyphis fortis","volume":"210","author":"Wittlinger","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Exp. Biol."}],"container-title":["Journal of Experimental Biology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article-pdf\/doi\/10.1242\/jeb.244246\/2956625\/jeb244246.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article-pdf\/doi\/10.1242\/jeb.244246\/2956625\/jeb244246.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,22]],"date-time":"2023-06-22T22:40:58Z","timestamp":1687473658000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.biologists.com\/jeb\/article\/226\/12\/jeb244246\/316630\/Two-feedback-mechanisms-involved-in-the-control-of"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,15]]},"references-count":45,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,15]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1242\/jeb.244246","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-0949","1477-9145"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-0949","type":"print"},{"value":"1477-9145","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,6,15]]},"article-number":"jeb244246"}}