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1/ Humans aren't the only animal to practice farming and domestication. Fish, insects and microbes have also evolved to form mutual domestication pacts, so some examples...
2/ The parrotfish farms patches of algae on coral reefs, moving cyclically and fighting off competitors and cleaning or pruning their crop with their parrot like beaks.
3/ The damselfish similarly farm algae, however, they appear to have domesticated a species of mysid shrimp to do the work. In return the fish protect them from predation.
4/ Leafcutter ants are probably the most famous non human farmers. They harvest leaves to act as fertiliser for a species of domesticated fungus, which is eaten by the larvae. This was a single evolutionary event over 50 million years ago.
5/ Beetles have evolved at least 11 independent farming and domestication systems. Ambrosia beetles cultivate fungus and carry it from tree to tree.
6/ Black garden ants have taken farming a step further and domesticated a species of aphid. The aphids are 'milked' for their honeydew and are protected by the ants. The ants can clip their wings and use pheromones to placate the aphids and stop them leaving.
7/ Finally, a still under-researched insect appears to farm smaller insects specifically for their meat. The Melissotarsus ants, only 3mm long, seem to farm a small scaly insect and from time to time chow down on them.
