Symbiosis between ant, Azteca sp., and Inga plant that provides nectar in bowls visible at base of leaves - see description
Azteca ants live in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with the Inga plant. The ants protect the plant from herbivorous insects which they attack. In exchange the plant provides nectar for the ants. The nectar bowls are visible where the bases of the leaf stalks diverge from one another. This ant is in a defensive posture above one of the bowl like feeding stations. In rainforest, Chilamate, Costa Rica
Size: 6095px × 3952px
Photo credit: © Martin Shields / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: america, animal, animal-plant, ant, ants, arthropod, azteca, central, chilamate, community, costa, defending, defensive, ecological, ecology, feeding, habitat, inga, insect, insect-plant, interacting, interaction, leaves, mutualism, mutualistic, nectar, neotropical, niche, plant, plants, posture, protecting, rainforest, relationship, rica, stance, symbiosis, symbiotic, tropical
