Ant ecocide

American researchers have solved the mystery of the "devil's gardens," enigmatic tracts of vegetation in the Peruvian Amazonian rainforest that consist of a singles species of tree. . .

Megan Elizabeth Frederickson of Stanford University and colleagues reported in the current issue of Nature that Myrmelachista schumanni ants, which nest in the hollow stems of D. hirsuta trees, poison with formic acid all plants that spring up around their home trees.

The largest such area described was no less than 1300 square meters. From Discovery News.

Posted by David on September 23, 2005 3:51 PM