Colonies build their nests of beeswax combs amid dense foliage, suspended from the branches of bushes and understory trees.
Some are understory plants in forests, where they tend to be scattered, and several genera grow in the mountains of tropical and subtropical regions.
A wide range of understory shrubs and small trees includes dogwood (Cornus), holly (Ilex), Magnolia species, and serviceberry (Amelanchier).
A varied understory includes many small trees or shrubs such as hornbeam (Carpinus), dogwood, service-tree (Sorbus), and the shrubs Acanthopanax and Aralia, which are relatives of ivy.
However, where fires are infrequent, especially in southern regions, rainforest vegetation can form an understory beneath the Eucalyptus canopy.
However, a great many flowering plants, including many that grow in the nearly windless environment of the understory, depend on animals to perform these functions.
Specialized orchids in the forest understory include calypso (Calypso bulbosa), coralroot (Corallorrhiza trifida), and lady's slipper (Cypripedum species).
Some forest understory species dominate their habitats; they include twinflower (Linnaea borealis), lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), baneberry (Actaea rubra), and Swedish and Canadian dwarf cornel (Cornus suecica and C. canadensis).
Large forest management units, however, generally contain extensive logged or burned areas where understory forage plants temporarily dominate the site.
Tropical forests and woodlands also have many Cyperaceae in the understory, but they are primarily species of Cyperus, Hypolytrum, Mapania, Rhynchospora, and Scleria.
Some large tropical squirrels, such as the Sulawesi giant squirrel (Rubrisciurus rubriventer) and the northern Amazon red squirrel (Sciurus igniventris), nest at middle levels but travel and forage low in the understory or on the ground.
