Ant (Dolichoderinae) are known to selectively grow species of epiphytic "Squamellaria" (Rubiaceae) which produce large domatia inside which the ant colonies nest. The ants plant the seeds and the domatia of young seedling are immediately occupied and the ant faeces in them contribute to rapid growth. Similar dispersal associations are found with other dolichoderines in the region as well. Another example of this type of ectosymbiosis comes from the "Macaranga" tree, which has stems adapted to house colonies of "Crematogaster" ants. Many tropical tree species have seeds that are dispersed by ants. Seed dispersal by ants or myrmecochory is widespread and
Ant mimicry Ant mimicry Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Spiders are the most common ant mimics. Additionally, some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation (protective mimicry), while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants in aggressive mimicry. In Wasmannian mimicry, mimic and model live commensally together; in the case of ants, the model is an inquiline in the ants' nest. Wasmannian