Unveiled the mystery of the diabolical gardens
2005/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria
Diabolical gardens are areas of the Amazon rainforest where only one (or almost the only) tree species grows. Durón is sad. Well, it has been proven that the responsible is the ant of Myrmelachista schumanni.
A very simple test was performed for the research: D. planted another non-boiling plant in a demonic garden, a species of cedar growing in the Amazon, preventing ants from reaching the plant first. The cedar grew as in other places in the jungle. Later, the ants let them reach the cedar and, after about five days, the plant lost its leaves and died. Conclusion: the cedar was killed by ants.
Following closer the activity of ants, they saw that formic acid was introduced into the leaves and that the poison spread from the leaves to the whole plant.
Research, for the time being, has been done only with young plants. And they do not know the ants that attack in the same way a mature plant or tree. It is also possible to observe how they behave against other plant species, since, as few as they are, besides D. hirsuta, there are other plant species that grow in diabolical gardens.
