Leafcutter ants are very unique due to their unique ability to cultivate fungi as food and the many ecological effects that result from this symbiosis. They are among the world's most voracious herbivorous insects, cutting up to 15 % of the standing leaf mass in their colony's territory of up to 1 ha each year. The plant ecology team of the Molecular Botany group conducts field research in the ants' natural habitat in South America. In order to clarify mechanistic questions - such as chemical and behavioral aspects of food choice - we also keep some colonies under controlled climatic conditions in the ant laboratory at RPTU. Some of the colonies are already over 10 years old and thus older than free-living colonies. The cultivation of these ants requires a great deal of expertise and is only realized in a few German research institutions, which is why our laboratory is regularly visited by international guest scientists.