Final answer:
Trophallaxis is the term for the process by which foraging ants bring food and water back to the colony and pass it to other nest-tending members of the colony in a mouth to mouth process. Ants, like leaf-cutter ants, demonstrate similar behaviors in their mutualistic relationships, such as cultivating and feeding on fungi.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mouth to mouth process by which foraging ants bring food and water back to the colony and pass it to other nest-tending members of the colony is called trophallaxis. This behavior serves a vital function in ant colonies, allowing not just for the distribution of food but also the transmission of chemical signals that coordinate the collective behavior of the colony. For example, leaf-cutter ants in Central and South American cultivate fungi in disk gardens using leaves they've cut from plants. Once smaller sugar molecules are produced and consumed by the fungi, the fungi become a meal for the ants. The ants feed on the fungi they cultivate, demonstrating a similar mutualistic relationship driven by the need to forage and distribute resources.
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