Cecropia and its biotic defenses

In all the world, the genus Cecropia is unrivaled for the number of myrmecophytes, or true "antplants" counted among its species (McKey & Davidson, 1993). Based on the proportion of Cecropia species producing Mullerian bodies in at least some parts of their distribution, myrmecophytes comprise the vast majority (ca. 80%) of species in the genus; most nonmyrmecophytes occur at higher elevations and on islands, where their ants are missing (Wheeler, 1942). Geographically, myrmecophytic Cecropia occur throughout the latitudinal range of the genus, from southern Mexico to northern argentina. Given that association with ants is so widespread taxonomically and geographically, it is likely that relationships with ants have been highly influential in the evolutionary diversification of Cecropia.