When Panamanian high schooler Alex Wcislo shot a 9-millimeter clay ball through a Cecropia tree, he was surprised to find that, in less than 24 hours, the wound had completely closed up. The <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/these-ants-heal-wounded-trees-in-a-fascinating-symbiotic-relationship">patchers were none other than Azteca alfari ants</a> who happened to live in the tree.That incidental finding led Wcislo and his school friends to conduct an experiment where they drilled holes in the trees and observed that the damage was repaired by the ants.This showcases an example of the symbiotic relationship between Azteca alfari ants and their tree dwellings. These ants will often use material found in the plant stem to repair holes left by the toenails of sloths and anteaters, especially if the wound puts the colony's brood at risk. In return, the tree receives antimicrobial secretions around its wound.Wcislo and his friends published their findings in the <a href="https://jhr.pensoft.net/article/75855/">Journal of Hymenoptera Research</a>.Image:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/114817368?size=medium">Bruno de Medeiros/iNaturalist</a> #ant #tree #symbiosis

a) Azteca ant and Cecropia plant responses to wounds in the stems a a sealed hole after 24 hours, but not yet filled in to the stem surface (arrow) b) a fully patched and filled-in hole after 24 hrs, oozing sap from the ant-sealed wound (arrow) c) a natural plant scar surrounding a 6.4 mm hole that was fully sealed by the ants, approximately 5 months later d) a hole in a plant without ants after 24 hrs, showing the green wall of the opposite side of the stem (arrow). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 88: 61-70 by Wcislo, A. et al