Myrmecodia beccarii

{{Short description|Species of epiphyte}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Myrmecodia beccarii with Dischidia nummularia.jpg

|image_caption = Myrmecodia beccarii with Dischidia nummularia

|genus = Myrmecodia

|species = beccarii

|authority = Hook f.

}}

Myrmecodia beccarii, ant-house plant, is an epiphytic plant on Melaleuca trees and others with spongy bark in the wetlands and mangroves of tropical north Queensland, Australia from Cooktown to Mission Beach. The prickly, swollen caudex develops natural hollows which are colonised by the golden ant (Philidris cordatus) in a symbiotic arrangement. The ants patrol the plant, removing leaf-eaters, while their excreta is absorbed by the plant for nutrition.Skull, S., Plants of the Melaleuca Woodlands, 1995, James Cook University {{ISBN|0-86443-531-2}}

The flowers are white and tubular, to 10 mm, and the fruit is white/translucent containing a single seed. These seeds are transported to other trees by the mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum).Cooper, W., Fruits of the Australian Tropical Rainforest, 2004, Nokomis Editions Pty Ltd {{ISBN|0-9581742-1-0}}

The Apollo jewel butterfly (Hypochrysops apollo apollo) lays its eggs on the plant, and because they smell like ant's eggs, the ants carry the eggs inside the plant, where they develop to the butterfly stage. Hypochrysops is a genus of "blues", butterflies in the family Lycaenidae, which is notorious for its myrmecophily. Accordingly, it is likely that the larvae that hatch from the eggs feed either on food begged from the ants, or on ant larvae, or possibly both. In either event, the butterfly finally emerges and flies off. This plant has been declared by Australia as a vulnerable species due to invasive species and illegal collecting https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/11852-conservation-advice.pdf#:~:text=Myrmecodia%20beccarii%20is%20listed%20as%20vulnerable.%20This%20species,of%20the%20Endangered%20Species%20Protection%20Act%201992%20%28Cwlth%29. Williams, K.A.W., Native Plants of Queensland (Vol.1), 1979 {{ISBN|0-9595570-0-8}}

Image:Myrmecodia beccarii flower.jpg|flower

Image:Myrmecodia beccarii fruiting.jpg|fruiting