After mating the winged males die, while mated queens drop to the ground, lose their wings and attempt to establish small nests beneath the soil. After digging a small gallery in the soil, the queen takes the fungus wad from her mouth and begins to culture it as food for her first eggs. Initially the fungus is nourished by fecal material. Approximately 90 percent of this first brood will be eaten by the queen. As the colony grows, worker ant size increases.
Individual colonies can exist for years.
Where adequate food is available, colonies may expand to contain over 2 million ants. Leaf cutting ant colonies are frequently seen along roadsides, in open fields, in brushland or forestland. The colonies are restricted to deep, well drained sandy or loamy soils. They can be quite large, covering an area up to almost an acre. Colony size depends on its age and the availability of food.