"A further specialization occurred from the opportunity that this coevolution offered. Up until this point the ant host had been feeding their cultivars primarily with detritus and fecal matter [26]. The shift towards herbivory consisted of certain groups of attine ants (the ancestors of Atta and Acromyrmex) shifting towards fresh plant matter as a substrate for growing their gardens [27] [28]. This shift provided the opportunity for the development of industrial-scale agriculture that we now see in the Atta and Acromyrmex genera."
skookin wrote
"A further specialization occurred from the opportunity that this coevolution offered. Up until this point the ant host had been feeding their cultivars primarily with detritus and fecal matter [26]. The shift towards herbivory consisted of certain groups of attine ants (the ancestors of Atta and Acromyrmex) shifting towards fresh plant matter as a substrate for growing their gardens [27] [28]. This shift provided the opportunity for the development of industrial-scale agriculture that we now see in the Atta and Acromyrmex genera."