Ant gardens

The plants do more for their ants than strengthen the nests. The most prevalent ant-garden plants bear moist, pulpy fruits and produce generous amounts of nectar from special glands. The ants can exploit these nourishing foods without leaving home. In return, the ants offer their plants a secure, well-tended site. They protect their... 

From recent work, we do know that chemical signals from the seeds direct the ants selections. Although the story is still incomplete, an extraordinary finding has been that a chemical compound called MMS (methyl 6-methylsalicylate) is present in the seeds the ants choose. MMS is found in the seeds of the ten or twelve unconnected species from seven plant families that flourish in Peruvian ant gardens. The ants seem to find this compound irresistible. Offered inert particles coated with MMS, they become excited, pick up these decoy seeds, and occasionally carry them about. 

Convergent evolution is not the only conceivable explanation for MMS, however. An alternative possibility is that MMS evolved separately in each species of plant in response to environmental pressures that may have differed in each case but had nothing to do with ant gardens. Some time thereafter, the ants discovered each of these plants and, in response to the attractive MMS present in each of them, they brought the plants seeds to their nests. In this way, all MMS-bearing plants eventually became established in a single... 

Many ants produce formic acid that they use in biting or stinging.The acid is part of why an ant bite hurts. In the rain forests of Peru, researchers have discovered ants that use formic acid to "garden. The lemon ants that live there prefer the lemon ant tree because the leaves have hollow stems that provide nest sites for the ants. The ants make sure there are lots of lemon ant trees.They inject formic acid into the leaves of all the plants in an area except the lemon ant tree.The acid causes the leaves to turn brown and fall off in about five days.The lemon ants "gardening method makes sure their favorite tree gets lots of sunlight. 

In the mid-nineteenth century the entomologist Henri Fabre noted that French ants (garden variety) busily bustled about their business on hot... 

Roach, John. Ants use acid to make gardens in Amazon, study says, National Geographic Web site. Available online. URL http //news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0921 050921 amazon ant.html. Accessed on March 19, 2008. 

Frederickson, M., M.J. Greene and D.M. Gordon. Ants bedevil devil s gardens. (2005)... 

Roach, John, Ants Use Acid to Make Gardens in Amazon, Study Says National Geographic News, 2006. (09 September 2005) [accessed on March 21, 2007]... 

Currie, C.R. Scott, J.A. Summerbell, R.C. Malloch, D. (1999) Fungus-growing ants use antibiotic-producing bacteria to control garden parasites. Nature, 398, 701-4. 

Protection Offered Avermectins arc registered to control spider mites and leafminers on flowers and ornamental foliage crops. 7 hey are also available as a fire ant bait, but other garden uses await federal approval. 

Protection Offered In the garden, boric acid is commonly used as a bait to control ants. Such baits typically combine boric acid dust and a food that attracts ants, such as sugar, jelly, or pet food. 

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