Mimosa Girdler Beetle and Mimosa tree Mimosa girdler beetles will lay their eggs only on mimosa trees. Mimosa trees usually live for about 20 years. However, trees that have been “girdled” by the beetles may live twice as long (the reason is not yet known).

Hawk Moth and Flower (Angraecum orchid) Many plants rely on animals to pollinate their flowers. In some cases, plants depend on specific animals to pollinate them, and the animals are specially adapted to pollinate only those plants. The Madagascan hawk moth and the Angraecum orchid are an excellent example of this type of specialization. The moth, with its 12-inch (30.5 cm) feeding tube, is the only animal in the Madagascan forest that can reach the flower’s nectar supply.

Honey Guide and Ratel (Honey Badger) Ratels, or honey badgers, eat many different foods, including small mammals, birds, dead animals, and plants. If a ratel hears a honey guide making characteristics calls, it will follow the bird—and the bird will lead it to a beehive. Once the ratel has broken open the hive, it will eat the honey and the bees; the bird will eat the bee larvae and wax in the hive. Honey guides also lead people to bee hives.

Flying Foxes and fruit tree Flying foxes are active at night and may fly long distances from their roosting trees to the trees where they feed. Once flying foxes have found trees laden with fruit, they will eat, rest, and digest their food before flying home. These large bats are important seed dispersers for many different fruit-bearing trees.

Acacia tree (bull’s horn acacia) and ant (Pseudomyrmex ant) Hollow thorns on acacia trees provide excellent places for ants to live an raise their young. For the adult ants, the trees provide food in the form of nectaries inside their stems. At the tips of their leaves, they also produce protein-rich food that the ants feed to their young. The ants, in turn, defend the tree against potential foes. They attack and chase away any insect that lands on the tree, cut down competing plants, and may even attack large, browsing mammals.