Studies of ants typically emphasize behavior and the evolution of sociality because they intrigue us as a different kind of society that helps us better understand our own. But there is a second reason to study ants, a second parallel with the human condition, and that involves the intimate associations ants have with many other species. We increasingly recognize that humans are walking ecosystems, hosting innumerable microorganisms that range from pathogens to beneficial elements of the microbiome. Ant colonies are diverse ecosystems as well. Ant societies attract a remarkable diversity of housemates, known as myr-mecophiles, that are intimately associated with and dependent on their hosts. These myrmecophiles come from nearly every type of terrestrial life, including microbes, fungi, nematodes, mites, silverfish, crickets, beetles, butterflies, parasitic wasps, and snakes. In some cases, myrmecophiles are beneficial to the ants, but more often they are freeloaders, thieves, murderers, or grifters of all manner.
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