Balancing between mutualism and exploitation: the symbiotic interaction between Lasius ants and aphids

Offenberg, Joachim

doi:10.1007/s002650000303

Cited by 176 publications

(163 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Becerra and Venable (1989) proposed the hypothesis that EFNs may function to defend plants by distracting ants from colonies of ant-tended insects. Offenberg (2001) supported this idea by demonstrating that L. niger preys on A. fabae in the presence of nectar. In our observation (over 32 h), however, predation on aphids by ants did not occur.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Extrafloral nectaries indirectly protect small aphid colonies via ant-mediated interactions

Katayama

Suzuki

2010

Appl. Entomol. Zool.

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When ant-tended aphids parasitize plants with extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), ant-mediated indirect interactions occur between the plants and aphids. In particular, when an aphid colony is small, the honeydew production of the colony is insufficient to attract ants, although EFNs can attract many ants. Under this condition, we asked whether a small aphid colony would gain indirect benefits from EFNs because ants would be attracted by the EFNs instead of the aphids, or whether the aphid colony would suffer strong predatory pressure from ants and/or other predators. To clarify the aphid-plant interactions, the protective services provided by two ant species, Lasius japonicus and Tetramorium tsushimae, for the survival of a small colony of Aphis craccivora were examined on the host plant, Vicia faba, with and without EFNs. More workers of both ant species were recruited to the plants with EFNs than to those without EFNs, and the larvae of a predatory ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, stayed for a shorter time and preyed on a smaller number of aphids on the plants with EFNs than on those without EFNs. In addition, no negative effects of EFNs, such as predation of the aphids by the ants, were found. Consequently, it is suggested that a small aphid colony gains indirect benefits from the EFNs of its host plant.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Extrafloral nectaries indirectly protect small aphid colonies via ant-mediated interactions

Katayama

Suzuki

2010

Appl. Entomol. Zool.

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“…Honeydew is rich in carbohydrates and in some amino acids, which are attractive and nutritionally valuable for ants [4][5][6][7]. Additionally, the ants sometimes use aphids as a source of protein by consuming them [8][9][10][11]. Aside from protecting the Hemiptera, ants may also reduce their risk of getting fungal infections via hygienic behaviors [12][13][14], reduce indirect competition with untended Hemiptera [15], and they can even transport the Hemiptera to suitable feeding sites when a host plant's quality deteriorates [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary Perspectives on Myrmecophily in Ladybirds

Vantaux

Roux²,

Magro

et al. 2012

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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Myrmecophiles are species that usually have developed specialized traits to cope with the aggressiveness of ants enabling them to live in their vicinity. Many coccinellid species are predators of Hemiptera; the latter is also often protected by ants. Therefore these ladybirds frequently interact with ants, and some species have become myrmecophilous. In this paper, we aim to provide an overview of the evolution of myrmecophilous traits in ladybirds. We then discuss the costs and benefits of myrmecophily and the dietary shift to myrmecophagy observed in a few species.

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“…It is known that the behaviour of ants towards their aphid partners can depend on the availability of alternative sources of food (Offenberg, 2001). In this study many unattended aphids were taken as prey by ants and single moribund specimens of myrmecophilous aphids were also removed from colonies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The trophobiotic ant-aphid relationship is a classic example of a mutualistic interaction with a number of different levels of mutual dependence (Nixon, 1951;Cherix, 1987;Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990;Stadler & Dixon, 1999;Offenberg, 2001;Stadler et al, 2003;Novgorodova, 2004). Aphids are divided into two main groups: myrmecophilous (tended by ants) and nonmyrmecophilous (unattended).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant-aphid interactions in multispecies ant communities: Some ecological and ethological aspects

Novgorodova¹

2005

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Abstract. Investigations of the interactions between aphids and ants in multispecies ant communities and an experimental investigation of some ethological aspects of ant-aphid interactions were carried out in mixed forests at Novosibirsk Academic Centre, from 1998-2002. The eight species of ants investigated were characterized by different levels of territorial organization and interaction with aphids, which were associated with different degrees of specialization of the worker ants. The most myrmecophilous species of aphids (24 out of 33 species identified) were associated with the red wood ants. By placing Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in aphid colonies it was shown that only ants with large protected territories attacked the adults and larvae of the predator. Other species of ants either protected aphids only from adult ladybirds or did not guard them at all. Moreover, only individuals of Formica s. str., which has specialized workers, did not switch to collecting protein food. However, aphids make up a considerable part of the prey of ants, in which non-myrmecophilous aphids predominate (about 60-100% of the aphid prey). Moreover, ants only killed unattended or damaged myrmecophilous aphids. Formica s. str., which has the highest level of social and territorial organization, provides aphids with the most services and is the dominant species forming symbiotic relationships with aphids in the communities studied.

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Balancing between mutualism and exploitation: the symbiotic interaction between Lasius ants and aphids

Cited by 176 publications

References 24 publications

Extrafloral nectaries indirectly protect small aphid colonies via ant-mediated interactions

Extrafloral nectaries indirectly protect small aphid colonies via ant-mediated interactions

Evolutionary Perspectives on Myrmecophily in Ladybirds

Ant-aphid interactions in multispecies ant communities: Some ecological and ethological aspects

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