The swollen stem of a Cordia nodosa plant houses a symbiotic colony of Azteca ants. The ants protect the plant from herbivores in exchange for lodging. The large ant at center is the queen. Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador
A colony of Azteca inhabits the hollow domatia of a Cordia ant-plant. Refugio Amazonas, Tambopata, Peru.
Dolichoderine ants are high-energy insects. The Azteca ants that rule tropical rainforest canopies, for example, get many of their carbohydrates from relationships with honeydew-producing scale insects. Jatun Sacha, Napo, Ecuador
