✉news ScienceBiology first seen 6 h ago, last 1 h ago, peak #17
Wasps taking over ant homes in tropical trees
Original: Tropical trees built homes for ants. Wasps are taking them over
Researchers report that some tropical trees that evolved hollow structures to house ants are now being occupied by wasps, which are taking over the domatia originally built for their ant partners. The finding highlights an unexpected shift in these well-known plant-ant symbioses and raises questions about how the takeover affects both the trees and the ants that once protected them.
Why now: A new study documenting wasps displacing ants from tree-provided homes is surprising to biologists interested in symbiosis.
Evidence
- Tropical trees built homes for ants. Wasps are taking them over · sciencedaily.com
- Tropical trees built homes for ants. Wasps are taking them over · ScienceDaily
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