Eur. J. Entomol. 104 (2): 347-349, 2007 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2007.050

Cicadas "dig wells" that are used by ants, wasps and beetles

Kazuo YAMAZAKI
Osaka City Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 8-34 Tojo-cho, Tennoji-ku, Osaka 543-0026, Japan;

There is a high density of the cicada Cryptotympana facialis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in urban parks in central Japan during summer. This cicada uses its stylet to pierce holes in the trunks of keyaki trees, Zelkova serrata and then feeds on the exuding xylem sap. Three ant species, Formica japonica Motschulsky, Lasius japonicus Santschi and Crematogaster matsumurai Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) were observed aggregatively feeding on these exudates. In addition, two wasp species, Polistes jokohamae Radoszkowski (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), and Ampulex dissector (Thunberg) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) fed on the sap. These ants and wasps can therefore be classified as commensals. Two flower chafers, Protaetia brevitarsis (Lewis) and P. orientalis submarumorea (Burmeister) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were also observed displacing cicadas from their feeding sites and feeding on the exuding sap. Thus, these chafers can be classified as both commensals and kleptoparasites.

Keywords: Cicada-ant interactions, commensalism, kleptoparasitism, sap feeders, xylem fluid

Received: September 9, 2006; Revised: November 27, 2006; Accepted: November 27, 2006; Published: April 25, 2007  Show citation

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YAMAZAKI, K. (2007). Cicadas "dig wells" that are used by ants, wasps and beetles. EJE, 104(2), 347-349. doi: 10.14411/eje.2007.050
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