Acacia collinsii
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| iAcacia collinsii | ||||||||||||||||
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| Image:Acacia-collinsii.jpg A. collinsii In Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
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| Acacia collinsii Saff. |
This species of Acacia, which grows in secondary succession in seasonally dry ecosystems in southern Central America, exhibits a symbiotic relationship with several species of ant (Pseudomyrmex spinicola, Pseudomyrmex ferruginea). A closer look at the photo in the taxobox will reveal a small hole near the tip of the center stipular thorn. The ants chew these holes in the tips of the hollow thorns so that they can enter, and create their colony inside. A single ant colony may span several A. collinsii trees.
The ants protect the tree(s) from attack by other insects, and some ant species even cut down vegetation on the ground surrounding their tree(s), and trim the encroaching branches of other plants, which allows the A. collinsii trees to thrive. In exchange, A. collinsii not only provides the ants with hollow thorns in which to live, but also produces food bodies on its leaves, which are consumed by the ants.
