The ants of the acacia tree

The acacia tree has a very special protection system which exists in no other trees. It has ants…

The ants that live on the acacia tree and which are called acacia ants (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) protect the trees at the expense of their lives.

In the rain forests of Costa Rica, where the sun appears only between the trees, because of the dense growth, ivy plants turn up. Ivy plants can grow large enough to block all of the acacia tree’s leaves and branches, and block the sunlight from reaching them. This works the same way for all of the trees in the woods except for the acacia tree, which has it's own unique method of dealing with the competition.

When the ants realize that an ivy plant is blocking the sunlight from reaching the tree, they suddenly intervene. Coming together, they cut off and throw away the offending ivy branch or leaf.

Moreover, they not only protect this tree from other plants, but they also prevent grasshoppers from harming the acacia tree by stinging them; acacia ants have even been known to repel larger animals, such as goats, by stinging them on the head.

In return for this gardening service the acacia tree provides the ants with an excellent nutrient source The nectar of the tree serves as an excellent nutrient for the acacia ants, and the orange- colored buds are also a good aliment which acacia ants like. These buds are like a food package which includes all the necessary vitamins for the growth of the larvae.

The acacia tree not only presents valuable s to the ants but also provides them a place to stay. The ants which make their nests in the tree's spine, thus lives out of harm's way, and have the most convenient access to their nutrition source, as well as natural protection from other creatures.

This common life between the ants and the acacia tree, presents a serious challenge in terms of the theory of evolution. It's an extraordinary miracle of creation that the ant will not only sacrifice it's very life to defend the acacia tree, but that the acacia tree is not harmed by the ants, and provides the ants that inhabit it with not only a home, but nutrition as well.

These altruistic behaviors that both of these creatures show one another is not a ”survival of the fittest” scenario which evolutionists claim, but rather serves as evidence by Almighty Allah that He created all things in harmony and order.
 

All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth, Lord of all the worlds. All greatness belongs to Him in the heavens and earth. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-Jathiyya, 36-37)