Скачать или смотреть Ant wars start when plant walls fall | Science News

Violent fights break out between two colonies of tiny ants, one yellow species and one black, when researchers slice open the fat blob of a Squamellaria tenuiflora plant species in Fiji. The plants grow high in trees and naturally form multiple, winding hollow chambers, each with its own private entrance, perfect for ant colonies to move into — and nourish the plant with their droppings. But break down the inner walls between the chambers, and in perhaps half an hour, all ants will be dead. That reveals that the plant’s architecture is key to colonies of different species living very close together in peace, allowing the plant-ant cooperative, mutualistic relationship to thrive.

Video Credit: G. Chomicki et al /Science 2025