Ant–plant interactions: the importance of extrafloral nectaries versus hemipteran honeydew on plant defense against herbivores

摘要: The two most important ant-plant attractions are extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and hemipteran honeydew. In both cases, ants may offer an effective protection against natural enemies of plants, in exchange for its sugar-rich exudates. aim this paper was to compare the effi- ciency ant between plants with EFNs study carried out Amazonian Rain Forest Reserve at km 41 (028 24 0 S, 598 44 W), located 80 from Manaus. We recorded species 25 forest understory along line transects 5 km. efficiency protecting measured by experiment prey removal using isopteran workers. It found that more faster attacking termites when honeydew rather than EFNs, probably due larger resource monopolization. This further underlines importance experimental studies elucidate eco- logical evolutionary honey- dew defense herbivores.