Insects have a more regimented social structure than primates, with individuals having specific tasks. Social insects, such as termites and ants, live everywhere in rainforests. They create colonies of varying sizes, some containing just a few individuals, while others have millions. The ants of every colony are classified by caste, and each caste is allowed a job within the colony, dependent upon its ability to reproduce. Ants that build permanent nests in trees have a symbiotic relationship with their host. The tree provides shelter and nectar from special glands on leaves, and the ants rid the tree of pests. Green tree ants (Oecophylla smaragdina), pictured above, build nests from living leaves. The workers position the leaves, and bind them with silk squirted out of their larvae.
Text by Thomas Marent; Photo by Ptygmatics
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