Abstract
Individuals of Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (Urticaceae) host Azteca (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) colonies in their hollow internodes and feed them with glycogen bodies produced in modified petiole bases (trichilia). In turn, ants keep trees free from herbivores and lianas. Here, we report for the first time the association of nests of Nasutitermes ephratae Rambur (Isoptera: Termitidae) with these trees, in South-Pantanal (Brazil). We aimed to describe the Cecropia-ant-termite system and to investigate how their coexistence is made possible. For this we compared the frequency of termitaria between C. pachystachya and another tree species, and the patrol activity of ants between individuals of C. pachystachya with and without termite nests. We verified how long ants took to find and remove live termite baits in C. pachystachya trees and we described the architecture of C. pachystachya individuals with and without termite nests. Termitaria occurred in C. pachystachya at the same frequency as in other tree species. There was no relationship between ant patrol activity and the occurrence of termite nests in C. pachystachia. These results suggest that there is no effect of ant patroling activity on termitaria frequency. However, they occurred mainly in the tallest and more branched individuals, and generally were set in the lower portion of the trees, associated with the trunk, fork or basal branches. There, N. ephratae find the opportunity to establish their nests, because ants remain close to young-active trichilia at the tip of branches, leaving the bottom of the tree almost free of patrol. The physical segregation of termite and ant life-areas may represent a escape strategy of termites in relation to ants inhabiting C. pachystachya.
Highlights
The neotropical genus Cecropia (Urticaceae) includes 60-70 species, 80% of them are trees inhabited by obligatory simbiotic ants of at least four subfamilies: Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae e Ponerinae (Davidson & Fisher 1991, Davidson & McKey 1993, Folgarait et al 1994)
The relationship between Cecropia spp. and Azteca spp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) – one of the most conspicuous and well studied mirmecofilic interactions – is considered a symbiotic relationship because ants live only in the large hollow internodes of some species, feeding on Müllerian bodies produced in modified petiole bases (Wheeler 1942, Janzen 1969, Dejean et al 2009)
We hypothesize that: 1) The frequency of termite nests in C. pachystachya is lower than in neighbor trees; 2) Termite nests occur in trees with lower density of foraging ants; 3) The time that ants take to find and remove live termite baits in C. pachystachya trees is lower in leaves than in trunks; 4) Termite nests are fixed preferentially in the smallest and more branched trees; and 5) Termite nests are fixed preferentially distant from the canopies
Summary
The neotropical genus Cecropia (Urticaceae) includes 60-70 species, 80% of them are trees inhabited by obligatory simbiotic ants of at least four subfamilies: Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae e Ponerinae (Davidson & Fisher 1991, Davidson & McKey 1993, Folgarait et al 1994). (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) – one of the most conspicuous and well studied mirmecofilic interactions – is considered a symbiotic relationship because ants live only in the large hollow internodes of some species, feeding on Müllerian bodies produced in modified petiole bases (trichilia) (Wheeler 1942, Janzen 1969, Dejean et al 2009) These food bodies are rich in carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and primarily glycogen, which remarkably is the principal storage carbohydrate found in animals and is extremely rare in plants (Rickson 1971, Rico-Gray & Oliveira 2007). Some insects escape from predation even in trees occuppied by ants Ant genus such as Cephalotes, Crematogaster and Pseudomyrmex, were found foraging on Cecropia pachystachya Trécul (Urticaceae) branches (Vieira et al 2010) and Camponotus, Solenopsis and Procryptocerus were found in Cecropia insignis (Liebm.) inhabited by Azteca ants (Longino 1991). We hypothesize that: 1) The frequency of termite nests in C. pachystachya is lower than in neighbor trees; 2) Termite nests occur in trees with lower density of foraging ants; 3) The time that ants take to find and remove live termite baits in C. pachystachya trees is lower in leaves than in trunks; 4) Termite nests are fixed preferentially in the smallest and more branched trees; and 5) Termite nests are fixed preferentially distant from the canopies (where trichilia are concentrated)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
