Tetraponera tessmanni is a species of ant in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae, which is native to tropical Central Africa,[1] where it inhabits the hollow stems of the liana Vitex thyrsiflora.

Tetraponera tessmanni has a symbiotic relationship with Vitex thyrsiflora, a liana of the tropical rain forests of West and Central Africa, which has hollow cavities in which the ant makes its nest.

Other insects are associated with plants and may try to colonise the nodes of V. thyrsiflora, but T. tessmanni is the only ant to create entrance holes (although this is also done by the beetle Ischnolanguria concolor).

T. tessmanni is a very aggressive ant and seems capable of establishing its dominance over the liana, which may be 50 m (164 ft) or so long.

[2] The ant larvae have their heads orientated ventrally, fleshy appendages on the thoracic and first abdominal segments, and hooked hairs on their dorsal surfaces, by which they are hung from the roof of the domatia.