Red Weaver Ants Oecophylla smaragdina patrolling empty male syconia of Ficus fistulosa at Sg Liang, Brunei Darussalam in November 2011. Note the jumping spider (possibly Myrmarache plataleoides) which both mimics and preys on the Red Ants in the lower right hand corner of the photo.
Patrolling ants often attend male figs which act as incubators for fig wasps in dioecious figs such as Ficus fistulosa. The ants prey on the fig wasps as they emerge from the fig. However the yellow colour of the fig indicates the wasps are long gone. The ants may be using the empty fig as temporary domatia (homes) or farming aphids inside the empty figs.Ficus fistulosa figs ripen green and are dispersed by small fruit bats. Male figs do not produce seeds only fig wasps. The open ostiole (holes) in the base of the fig indicate the wasps have already left and these male figs will eventually rot and fall to the ground uneaten.
