Devil's garden

As Devil Garden ( Kichwa: Supay chakra, Spanish Jardin del Curupira ) occurring monocultures of Rötegewächses Duroia hirsuta are referred to in the rainforest of the Amazon, of course.

The indigenous people of the region believe that the affected areas are inhabited by evil spirits ( hence the name). In reality, however, the ant species Myrmelachista schumanni the culprits. They live in symbiosis with Duroia hirsuta and give their symbionts a selective advantage by killing all other plants in their habitat by means of its ant poison. To this end, they inject the poison - main ingredient is the formic acid - by bite preferably in the young shoots of the unwanted plants that die then. In this way, the ants provide for the spread of their host plant. Since the ants colonize the hollow trunks of Duroia hirsuta, this in turn serves the expansion and continued existence of their own colony.

This symbiosis, in which the tree provides the ants caves available and is it protected in return before troublesome competition seems to be very successful for both species: the oldest observed to date by researchers devil garden has existed since at least 800 years.

In each devils garden located only one, sometimes giant ant colony, which can be composed of up to 3 million worker ants and 15,000 queens.