Huang, J., Zhang, P.J., Zhang, J., & Tang, Y.Y. 2017 An ant-coccid mutualism affects the behavior of the parasitoid Aenasius bambawalei, but not that of the ghost ant Tetramorium bicarinatum.. Scientific Reports DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-05442-6
Keywords:
Notes: This study compared the behavioral responses of the ant Tetramorium bicarinatum and the parasitoid wasp Aenasius bambawalei to odors from cotton plants infested with the mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis or infested with the mealybug and the ant, which tends the mealybug. The ant could not distinguish between the volatiles from plants infested with the mealybug alone and those from plants infested with the mealybug and the ant. Likewise, naïve wasps failed to distinguish between volatiles from the two treatments. In contrast, experienced wasps preferred volatiles from plants infested with the mealybug and the ant.
