title: Fire ants protect mealybugs against their natural enemies by utilizing the leaf shelters constructed by the leaf roller Sylepta derogata.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Red Imported Fire Ant Research Center, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Aiming
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yongyue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yijuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Guangwen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000502:physiology*; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000502:physiology