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Project Noah Nature School
Dillenia suffruticosa
This is sort of hard to categorize. There are a lot of different species in this picture. The main focus are the ants, which you can see in the fertilized flower. They have a mutualistic relationship with the flower. They're either lapping up the nectar, dispersing the seeds, or pollinating the flower. Please tell me what your opinion is, as I have this in a mission. I can see 18 ants in this picture. The flower is pinkish, and you can see two tan fruits above it, as well as a fertilized egg sac. Note also the grasshopper in the right side of the picture, possibly waiting to eat the ants.
This was found in a secondary rainforest on a sunny day in Singapore. It was given partial shade by medium-size trees above it. I found these bugs resting on a tree, about 10 feet off the ground.
Spotted on Mar 5, 2013
Submitted on Mar 10, 2013
3 Comments
Did you notice the grasshopper in the top-right corner of the picture? It could have been feeding on the plants seeds. Also, were there any pollinators you saw around the plant? And how big was the plant?
It's definitely a plant. You can see the stem, the sepals, and the fertilized ovaries.
is it an insect or a plant? it looks like a flower but it could be camouflage.