The leaf cutter ant lives in Mexico and areas further south.

Hi:

Thanks for the info...yes, I know it lives in mexico and further south, but Atta texana does live in texas, Louisiana, and there are colonies of atta mexicana in arizona.

http://www.blueboard.com/leafcutters/distribution.htm

I should have looked at your link. Years ago, a college prof talked about the next-to-impossible USDA hurdles for importing and housing a leaf-cutter colony in his lab. I know of two zoos that talked about and discarded the idea of displaying colonies. I never heard anything about leaf cutters native to the U.S. Thank you for the information.
Have you checked with the Texas and Louisiana regional forums at Garden Web?

I already am satisfied with the Texas distribution, but was hoping to add to the distribution list for Louisiana, so I did add a message to the Louisiana forum. Thanks!

And yes, Atta texana is native to Texas and Louisiana.

We have leaf cutter bees in Florida, but I've never seen the ants.