The association with ants is believed to reduce the parasitisation of the butterfly caterpillars.

Ants tend a wide variety of insect species, most notably lycaenid butterfly caterpillars and hemipterans.

Most butterfly caterpillars, on the other hand, form an exposed pupa, also termed a chrysalis.

His doctoral work focused on the widespread symbioses between butterfly caterpillars, ants and plants, which he popularized under the nickname "Singing caterpillars".

DeVries, P.J. (1990) Enhancement of symbioses between butterfly caterpillars and ants by vibrational communications.

Weeds are kept under strict control within the borders, although, as the food plants of the red admiral, peacock and small tortoiseshell butterfly caterpillars, nettles are positively encouraged in wilder areas.

The ants help the butterfly caterpillars by keeping away other animals that want to eat or hurt the caterpillars.

Ichneumon wasps break into the ant colonies and release chemicals that make the ant guardians attack each other; the wasp then injects two of her eggs into the butterfly caterpillars.

Two native trees important to wildlife are black cherry, whose leaves are eaten by butterfly caterpillars, and the eastern red cedar, whose needles provide food for the larvae of the olive hairstreak butterfly.