Trophobiosis
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Trophobiosis is a symbiotic association between organisms where food is obtained or provided. The provider of food in the association is referred to as a trophobiont. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek τροφή (trophē), meaning "nourishment", and -βίωσις (-biosis), which is short for the English word symbiosis.[1]
Among the more noted trophobiotic groups are
In mutualistic relationships, the production of honeydew by trophobionts is rewarded by removal of dead hemipterans and protection from a variety of predators by the attendant ants. In some relationships the ants will build shelters for the farmed trophobionts, either to protect them or keep them from leaving the area. Some species of ants construct underground rooms to house the trophobionts and carry them between the host plant and housing area daily. In more complex obligate relationships (where both symbionts entirely depend on each other for survival) the ants will nest with the partner trophobionts in silk constructed leaf shelters or in underground colonies. Several species of migratory ants are noted to bring the trophobiont species with them when they move, transporting the trophobionts to new feeding areas and acting as a quick escape method if danger arises. While aphids, mealybugs and other more sedentary hemipterans are most often used as trophobionts, occasional instances of more active hemipterans such as
Ants of the entirely subterranean genus
This specific behavior has also been documented in
See also
References
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ LaPolla, J. S. (2004). "Acropyga (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the World". Contributions of the American Entomological Institute. 33 (3): 1–130.
- JSTOR 25078875.
- S2CID 55067700.
- ^ Dlussky, G. M. (1997). "Genera of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Baltic amber". Paleontological Journal. 31 (6): 616–627.
- ^ Wheeler, W. M. (1915). "The ants of the Baltic amber". Schriften der Physikalisch-Okonomischen Gesellschaft zu Konigsberg. 55: 91.