File:Ant garden c irritabilis F3.jpg

Drawing by Winfried Noll, Bruchkoebel, Germany.

Figure 3. Ant garden of C. irritabilis. The roots of the epiphytic H. elliptica have completely intersected the outer regions of the nest. The plant continues to grow along the stem and branches, without developing further roots on the host tree surface. In this way it reaches other nutrient rich new nests buildings, in which it than rapidly forms an extensive root system. Ant garden dimension: 26 cm x 27 cm.

Weissflog A, Kaufmann E and Ulrich Maschwitz. 2017. Ant gardens of Camponotus (Myrmotarsus) irritabilis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) and Hoya elliptica (Apocynaceae) in Southeast Asia. Asian Myrmecology 9: e009001:1-16. doi:10.20362/am.009001