The army climbed the cashew tree, their goal to make the colony grow,
the workers set off upon the leaves, pull them bend them heave ho,
the nurses brought the larvae on, gently coaxed for the silk to flow,
edges glued leaves stuck together, the new home was now good to go.
Intruders dare not disturb their nest, they risk a bite and an acid spray,
though friends they help quite so, like birds in whose feathers mites they slay,
aphids and scale insects they do protect, in return for which honeydew they pay,
mango cashew pests they feast, farmers’ friends Weaver Ants are they!
– Narendra Nayak © 2018
A Sliver of Life 