This young acacia ant queen has found a willing partner: a sapling with vacant thorns for her nest and abundant, nutritious beltian bodies to feed her larvae. Armenia, Cayo District, Belize.
In exchange for protection, swollen-thorn Acacia trees provide Pseudomyrmex ants with food and shelter. Here an ant harvests a protein-rich food body that will be fed to the ants' larvae. Chiriqui, Panama.