Africa 's ecosystems are teeming with intriguing dynamics, and the whistling thorn acacia holds center stage in the savannah ...

It’s also the home to the native acacia ant. The acacia ant has a symbiotic relationship with the whistling-thorn tree. The tree provides the acacia ants with shelter and food, and, in return ...

These are “ant-plant” trees, which famously cooperate with fierce Azteca ants; the trees provide shelter and food to the ants, and in exchange the ants defend their leaves against herbivores.

Foragers cut pieces of leaves from trees and drag ... antibiotic which the ants produce in order to control it. This alliance is an example of mutualism, a form of symbiosis, an intimate ...

Native ants historically protected acacia trees in Kenya's Ol Pejeta Nature Conservancy, but the invasive big-headed ants disrupt this harmony, leaving the trees vulnerable to destruction by ...