Ant-treehopper association provides enemy-free space for a facultative myrmecophilous butterfly, Parrhasius polibetes (Lycaenidae)

Symbiosis between ants and honeydew-producing hemipterans can cause several impacts on plants and other herbivores. We examine the indirect effects of an ant-treehopper system (Guayaquila xiphias; Membracidae) on larval survival in the facultative myrmecophilous butterfly Parrhasius polibetes. The study was carried out in the savanna of southeast Brazil. Newly-hatched larvae were individually placed on paired branches of the host plant Schefflera vinosa. Within each shrub one branch harbored one ant-treehopper association, and one neighboring branch was free from ants and treehoppers (ants excluded with Tanglefoot resin). Branches were checked daily for P. polibetes larvae, ants, and potential natural enemies. Presence of an ant-treehopper association increased survival of P. polibetes larvae and reduced the abundance of their natural enemies. Because tending ants are very aggressive around treehopper aggregations and expel approaching predators and parasitoids, nearby ant-tended P. polibetes larvae benefit from this enemy-free space created by the ant bodyguards (supported by FAPESP, CNPq, NSF)