Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Amazonian Ants Use Own Herbicide to Poison Unwanted Plants

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com

"A species of ants in the Amazon rainforest controls its environment by selectively killing off plants it doesn't like, a new study reveals. Findings published ... in the journal Nature, indicate that a formic acid herbicide produced and used by ants is responsible for single-species swatches of trees."