The Amazonian rainforest is a mosaic of some of the world's most diverse assemblages of plant life. Yet a species of ant (Myrmelachista schumanni) has found a way to maintain gardens of a single plant species, their host tree (Durola hirsuta), within the otherwise species-rich landscape. By injecting formic acid into the leaves of all other plant species surrounding their host tree, the ants kill-off competing vegetation, enabling their host tree and colony to thrive and even expand over a greater area.

Find out more: Ants Make 'Devil's Garden' of Eden (Nature)