Ant new estimates suggest that nearly 9% of all plant species may have such ant associations. Some plants in fire-prone grassland systems are particularly dependent on ants for their survival and dispersal as the seeds are transported to safety below the ground. Many ant-dispersed seeds have special external structures, elaiosomes, that are sought after by ants as food. A convergence, possibly a form of mimicry, is seen in the eggs of stick insects. They have an edible elaiosome-like structure and are taken into the ant nest where the young hatch. Most ants are predatory and some prey on and obtain food
Myrmecia (ant) brevinoda" was first discovered in New Zealand in 1940, and the ant was recorded in Devonport in 1948, 1965 and 1981, where a single nest was destroyed. Sources suggest the ant was introduced to New Zealand through human activity; they were found inside a wooden crate brought from Australia. While no eradication attempt was made by the New Zealand government, the ant has not been found in the country since 1981 and is presumed to have been eradicated. Ants of this genus prefer to inhabit grasslands, forests, heath, urban areas and woodland. Nests are found in "Callitris" forest, dry marri