Here’s a case where tiny insects change the behavior of animals about a billion times more massive then they. Researchers have discovered that African elephants won’t eat foliage of trees that have ants on them—they will even avoid their favorite tree species. Elephants avoid any trees with ants because the angry ants crawl up inside the elephant’s sensitive trunks and sting them.
The ants have no effect on tree-feeding giraffes, because these animals use their long tongues to swipe the ants away from their short snouts.