SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

BACTERIA AND HUMAN INTESTINES Bacteria further digest our food releasing vitamins for us and gaining nutrition for its own processes.

TAPEWORMS AND MAMMALS Tapeworm feeds off food that animal consumes and gets a nice warm home. The animal often gets sick and could die.

ANTS AND ACACIA TREES The ants defend the acacia tree against herbivorous insects and vertebrates. The ants chew away encroaching plants. The plant gives the ants food and nesting sites.

TAWNY OWL AND MICE Tawny owls hunt and eat mice.

DOGS AND FLEAS Fleas feed off the blood of dogs and could possibly cause anemia.

WHALES AND BARNACLES Barnacles use the slow-swimming whales as a ride through nutrient-rich waters. They do not harm the whale.

SPANISH MOSS AND TREES Spanish moss absorbs nutrients and water from air. Rarely kills trees, but lowers growth rate by blocking sunlight.

CLOWNFISH AND SEA ANEMONE Clownfish are protected by stinging tentacles of the anemone, while the clownfish chases away other fish and fertilizes the anemone.

FIGS AND FIG WASPS Fig wasps travel inside of the fig where the flower is and pollinates it in return for a place to lay eggs.

EAGLE AND RABBIT Eagles hunt and consume rabbits.

HUMAN HEAD AND LICE Head lice spend their entire life on the human scalp and feed exclusively on human blood.

REMORA AND SHARKS Remora are transported and protected by sharks and feeds on materials dropped by the sharks. Sharks are not harmed.

TREES AND MISTLETOE Mistletoe lives attached to and within the branches of trees from which it gets water and nutrients. It can kill the tree.

VENUS FLY TRAP AND INSECTS Venus fly trap consumes insects to gain nutrients.

TREES AND ORCHIDS many orchids cling to trees and bushes as a growth habit; but they take nothing from the host plant and do not injure it in any way.

BUTTERFLY AND FLOWER Butterflies get nectar from flowers and move pollen from flower to flower.

SQUIRRELS AND TREES Squirrels use trees for shelter while the tree is unharmed.

FIELD DIGGER WASP AND FLY Field digger wasps feed on flies. When the field digger wasp sees a fly, it sneaks up, jumps on it and may fall with it to the ground. There, it paralyzes the fly and transports it to the nest. It may also happen that the field digger wasp does not paralyze the caught fly, but ‘kneads’ it until liquid comes from its mouth, which is then eaten by the field digger wasp.

YUCCA MOTH AND YUCCA PLANT The female yucca moth gathers pollen from the flower anthers by using her specially adapted mouthparts. She forms the sticky pollen into a ball. The pollen ball is then "stuffed" or "combed" into the stigma of the various flowers she visits. Without this process, the yucca flower will not develop into the fruit or pod with seeds. When the female moth visits the flower, she backs up to the flower base and inserts her ovipositor to lay an egg in one or more of the six chambers. The chamber protects the egg while it develops. By the time the egg hatches into a microscopic caterpillar, the yucca will have begun to develop a pod with little seeds. The yucca and the yucca moth both benefit in the relationship.

RAFFLESIA PLANT AND VINE The rafflesia plant spreads root-like structures called haustoria within the root tissues of the host vine, growing hidden until blooming time.