Guindani, A.N., Nondillo, A., Dos Santos Wolff, V.R., & Azevedo Filho, W.S. 2017 Interação mutualística entre cochonilhas e formigas em videira. [Mutualistic interaction between scale insects and vine ants]. Revista Interdisciplinar de Ciencia Aplicada 2(4):
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Notes: Scale insects are associated with grapevine crop damage due to their eating habits of sucking the plant’s sap and excreting a sugary substance known as honeydew. Honeydew attracts certain species of ants that establish a mutualistic interaction with the scale: the ants provide protection against the scale’s natural enemies and, in some cases, help the scales to disperse. This interaction, however beneficial to the insects involved, is not beneficial to the grapevines. In this contribution, we review the literature information on the mutual interaction between scale insects and ants on grapevines, and its relevance to grape production.
