Thanks for sharing the information something new for me Tanay On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 11:22 PM, Neil Soares <[email protected]>wrote:
> Hi, > > Thought this might be interesting. Photographed at my farm at Shahapur on > Sunday. > > > > Young Khair [Acacia catechu] saplings are susceptible to grazing > animals. By providing food resources to ants in the form of extrafloral > nectaries [near the base of the leaflets] the plant makes it obligatory for > the ants to protect them. > > The Buffalo Tree Hopper [Leptocentrus taurus] sucks sap from the plant > and is hence a serious pest. Ideally, the ants should also rid the plant of > this pest except for its secret weapon : Honeydew. Their excreta called > Honeydew is rich in sugar acids, amino acids, vitamins, alcohol and > carbohydrates. It is excreted in the form of tiny liquid droplets. Ants > protect these hymenopterans from predators and in return are rewarded with > honeydew. > > The Common Godzilla Ant [Camponotus compressus] uses its antennae to > tap the body of the treehopper to induce it to release honeydew. > > > > Sending a few photographs. > > With regards, > > Neil Soares. > > > -- Tanay Bose Research Assistant & Teaching Assistant Department of Botany University of British Columbia 3529-6270 University Blvd. Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 (Canada) Phone: 778-323-4036
