Abstract
Camponotus compressus ants are thought to be mutualistic with plant sap-sucking insects such as aphids and treehoppers, where the ants provide protection from predation and/or help maintain hygiene, in exchange for sugar-rich honeydew secreted by sapsuckers. We studied the foraging strategies and ant-treehopper interactions among C. compressus ants and Oxyrachis tarandus tree-hoppers on the plant Bauhinia tomentosa. We found that ants show fidelity to specific patches of B. tomentosa. We also found a significant correlation between hopper number and the number of visiting ants in foraging patches. Our study raises many questions about the ant-treehopper mutualism, navigation strategies and optimal foraging in C. compressus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 362-366 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Current Science |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Camponotus compressus
- honeydew
- mutualism
- Oxyrachis tarandus
- patch fidelity