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The condition when an organism (a myrmecophile) lives with a colony of ants. It is often seen in the animal kingdom but some flowering plants have specialized inflated organs in which to house ant colonies. For example, various tropical American Acacia species have specialized thorns, which provide shelter for the ants, and extrafloral nectaries, which provide food. The ants in turn control insect pests that would otherwise feed on the Acacia leaves. Similarly epiphytes belonging to the genera Myrmecodia and Hydnophytum in the Rubiaceae have large swellings on their roots, which house ants in a network of cavities.
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