Oliver Tom H, Leather Simon R, Cook James M
Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7PY, UK.
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
Insects. 2012 Feb 2;3(1):120-30. doi: 10.3390/insects3010120.
Ants often form mutualistic interactions with aphids, soliciting honeydew in return for protective services. Under certain circumstances, however, ants will prey upon aphids. In addition, in the presence of ants aphids may increase the quantity or quality of honeydew produced, which is costly. Through these mechanisms, ant attendance can reduce aphid colony growth rates. However, it is unknown whether demand from within the ant colony can affect the ant-aphid interaction. In a factorial experiment, we tested whether the presence of larvae in Lasius niger ant colonies affected the growth rate of Aphis fabae colonies. Other explanatory variables tested were the origin of ant colonies (two separate colonies were used) and previous diet (sugar only or sugar and protein). We found that the presence of larvae in the ant colony significantly reduced the growth rate of aphid colonies. Previous diet and colony origin did not affect aphid colony growth rates. Our results suggest that ant colonies balance the flow of two separate resources from aphid colonies- renewable sugars or a protein-rich meal, depending on demand from ant larvae within the nest. Aphid payoffs from the ant-aphid interaction may change on a seasonal basis, as the demand from larvae within the ant colony waxes and wanes.
蚂蚁通常与蚜虫形成互利共生关系，蚂蚁为蚜虫提供保护服务以换取蜜露。然而，在某些情况下，蚂蚁会捕食蚜虫。此外，在有蚂蚁存在的情况下，蚜虫可能会增加所产蜜露的数量或质量，这是有成本的。通过这些机制，蚂蚁的照料会降低蚜虫群体的生长速度。然而，蚁群内部的需求是否会影响蚂蚁与蚜虫的相互作用尚不清楚。在一项析因实验中，我们测试了黑褐蚁蚁群中幼虫的存在是否会影响豆蚜群体的生长速度。测试的其他解释变量包括蚁群的来源（使用了两个不同的蚁群）和先前的饮食（仅含糖或含糖和蛋白质）。我们发现蚁群中幼虫的存在显著降低了蚜虫群体的生长速度。先前的饮食和蚁群来源并未影响蚜虫群体的生长速度。我们的结果表明，蚁群根据巢内蚁幼虫的需求，平衡来自蚜虫群体的两种不同资源的流动——可再生糖或富含蛋白质的食物。随着蚁群内幼虫需求的增减，蚂蚁与蚜虫相互作用中蚜虫的收益可能会随季节变化。
