Mycocepurus smithii is an attine fungus-growing ant from Latin America whose species consists exclusively of females which reproduce asexually. The queen reproduces by parthenogenesis and all ants in a colony are female clones of the queen. The ants cultivate a garden of fungus inside their colony grown with pieces of dead vegetables and other insects. It is this capacity for farming which initially prompted research into the species as a basal genus member would provide insight into the natural history of the fungal-cultivating ant tribe, Attini.
Foundress queens shed their wings prior to colony excavation either near the site or just inside. They then excavate a tunnel to a depth of roughly 10 cm (4 in) and create a primary chamber. The dealate queen then carries the wings into the primary chamber and inserts them into the chamber ceiling where the surface of the wings is used as a platform for growing an incipient fungal garden. The female fore wings of all three Attini basal genera (Mycocepurus, Apterostigma, and Myrmicocrypta) have a crescent-shaped spot lacking any veins or pigmentation, though the spot's functionality is unknown.
The research team was led by a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin in the United States, Anna Himler. The researchers initially were interested in the ants' capability for cultivating fungus. The researchers used DNA profiling to confirm that each member of the colony was genetically identical to the queen. They also discovered through a process of dissection that the mussel organ, a female docking apparatus within the vagina used to hook the mate's genitalia, had degenerated in members of this species. A total of six separate tests were carried out, with the researchers unable to locate any male members of the species. The team's findings were then published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
