Die Knotenameise geht mit der Büffelhornakazie eine Symbiose ein, indem das Ameisenvolk phytophage Insekten sowie Pflanzenkonkurrenz fernhält, die Wirtspflanze einerseits Wohn- und Brutraum in den hohlen Dornen bietet, andererseits Nahrung in Form von Nektar und eiweißreichen Beltschen Körperchen. Nahrungsaufnahme; Anbohren von Dornen.

The film shows that the plant ant Pseudomyrmex ferruginea lives in the hollow thorns of the buffalo-horn acacia (Acacia cornigera). The living chamber and brood chamber are visible in a thorn which has been cut open. The ant's most important source of food is in the numerous nectaries of leaf stems. The nectar is fervently licked up and harvested by the ants. The second most important food is represented by the Beltian bodies found at the tip of young pinnate leaflets. These bodies are examined by an ant with its mouthparts to determine if they are ripe enough to be harvested or if they have already been bitten off to feed the offspring. Gnawing an entranceway into a thorn which is still young is a lengthy task requiring 24 hours. That this thorn has already been occupied can be recognized at the end.