 "A. mearnsii" is used similarly as a larval host plant and food source by the imperial hairstreak, "Jalmenus evagoras".The tree is home to various grubs, such as wood moths, which provide a food source to the Australian black cockatoos, who strip the bark for access to these borers.During winter insects, birds and marsupials are hosted by the black wattle with the aid of their supplies of nectar in their leaf axials.