Eur. J. Entomol. 109 (4): 509-515, 2012 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2012.064

A novel association between Aphaenogaster subterranea (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the nymphs of Reptalus panzeri (Hemiptera: Cixiidae)

Gábor LŐRINCZI
Department of Ecology, University of Szeged, KGzép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary; e-mail: lorinczig@gmail.com

The nymphs of the cixiid planthopper, Reptalus panzeri (Löw, 1883), were found cohabiting with the myrmicine ant Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) in a sub-Mediterranean oak forest in mid-western Hungary. Except for a few cases, nymphs were recorded only in the nests of A. subterranea, or were recorded with foragers of this ant from neighbouring colonies. Adult planthoppers were also found in nests of A. subterranea in the emergence period. Neither field nor laboratory studies revealed direct or unambiguous interactions between this ant and the planthopper nymphs that would indicate a trophobiotic relationship, however the fact that nymphs do not try to escape from the ants, which do not attack the nymphs, indicates some kind of mutualistic relationship between them. The main food plant of R. panzeri nymphs in this habitat is likely to be the roots of manna ash (Fraxinus ornus).

Keywords: Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Aphaenogaster subterranea, Hemiptera, Cixiidae, Reptalus panzeri, ant-hemipteran association, insect-insect relationship, myrmecophily, Fraxinus ornus, ash

Received: February 2, 2012; Revised: April 27, 2012; Accepted: April 27, 2012; Published: October 5, 2012  Show citation

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LŐRINCZI, G. (2012). A novel association between Aphaenogaster subterranea (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the nymphs of Reptalus panzeri (Hemiptera: Cixiidae). EJE, 109(4), 509-515. doi: 10.14411/eje.2012.064
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