Plants sometimes contract ants as protectors, too. The acacia tree relies on them to keep herbivores from chowing down on its leaves. The ants are rewarded with nutritious bundles called "food ...

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 ...

Then arrives the big-headed ant, which effectively kills these native acacia ants that protect the whistling-thorn tree. Big-headed ants overrun the place over the past two decades, do not protect ...

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

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 ...