Zompopos are a species of ant that can be found all over Costa Rica. You might know them better as leafcutter ants. These ants live in huge colonies, sometimes having up to 5 million members. They can be found all over the country, from the secluded jungles to the busy streets of the capital, San José. Zompopos play a pivotal role in the ecosystem here in Costa Rica.
These ants are huge! Far larger than the ants you might find in your kitchen in New York. But what catches your eye is not the ant's size, but the size of the plant it carries on its back. A Zompopo can carry up to three times its weight and, more often than not, you’ll see it carrying a leaf, blade of grass or flower.
I first discovered these ants on a soccer field in San José. What first caught my eye was this long, moving column of what looked to be floating leaves! Upon closer inspection, I realized that this sea of green was really a colony of ants, cutting leaves from the bushes and bringing them back to their colony. I was in complete shock. I had seen ants before of course, but never ones this big or this organized! They marched in a straight, conveyor-belt line, going directly from their ant hole, to the bushes, and back to the hole again.
