Tropical trees have a long-standing arrangement with ants: the trees build shelters, and the ants defend the trees from hungry insects. But that arrangement is being disrupted. ScienceDaily reports that predatory wasps are hijacking the shelters built for ants, taking over the homes and potentially breaking down the protective partnership.
The wasps' takeover is not uniform across the landscape. It is far more common in disturbed areas such as oil palm plantations, suggesting that human-modified habitats may be especially vulnerable to this kind of displacement.
If the wasps continue to occupy these shelters, the trees may lose their ant defenders and become more exposed to herbivores. The report says the disruption could have further consequences, though the full impact is not yet clear. With only a single source, these findings remain preliminary.