Fire ants protect mealybugs against their natural enemies by utilizing the leaf shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 7; no. 11; p. e49982
• Main Authors: Zhou, Aiming, Zeng, Ling, Lu, Yongyue, Xu, Yijuan, Liang, Guangwen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21-11-2012; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Animals; Ants; Ants - physiology; Aphididae; Aphidoidea; Behavior, Animal; Biology; Coccoidea; Comparative analysis; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Fire ants; Fire effects; Formicidae; Gossypium hirsutum; Hemiptera; Hemiptera - physiology; Hibiscus rosa-sinensis; Homoptera; Hymenoptera; Insects; Laboratories; Leaves; Lepidoptera - physiology; Mealybugs; Mutualism; Natural enemies; Parasitoids; Phenacoccus solenopsis; Plant Leaves; Plant protection; Rollers; Shelters; Solenopsis invicta; Survival; Symbiosis - physiology; Tortricidae; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049982

The importance of mutualism is receiving more attention in community ecology. In this study, the fire ant Solenopsis invicta was found to take advantage of the shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata to protect mealybugs (Phenacoccus solenopsis) against their natural enemies. This protective effect of fire ant tending on the survival of mealybugs in shelters was observed when enemies and leaf rollers were simultaneously present. Specifically, fire ants moved the mealybugs inside the shelters produced by S. derogata on enemy-infested plants. Compared with that in plants without ants, the survival of mealybugs in shelters in the presence of natural enemies in plants with ants markedly improved. Both the protection of ants and the shelters provided by leaf rollers did not affect the survival of mealybugs in the absence of enemies in plants. Ants and leaf rollers significantly improved the survival of mealybugs in predator-infested plants, whereas no such improvement was observed in parasitoid-infested ones.