Estudos da interação entre formigas (hymenoptera - formicidae) e montrichardia linifera (araceae)

Abstract

Plant-insect associations occur between two or more groups and have been studied for a long time. Some plants develop peculiar structures that are occupied by insects, such as ants. In this work, we studied the interaction between ants and Montrichardia linifera in floodplain areas of Cumbú Island and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of Pará, from September 1999 to May 2000. In each site, 80 specimens of M. linifera were collected and divided into three equal parts: lower, middle and upper strata. Each plant was sectioned longitudinally to verify the position of the galleries occupied by ants. 12 species of ants were found nesting in these plants. The ants occupied galleries built by Coleoptera - Curculionidae, and did not show significant specific concentrations along the stem structure. Only Crematogaster limata and Azteca spl, showed a predisposition, to occupy the upper stratum. The highest concentrations of ants occurred in the upper (74.9%) and middle (19.6%) strata, and their diversity was higher at FCAP (Ds= 1.746) than at Ilha do Cumbú (Ds= 1.305). The ants showed a dimutualistic relationship with the plant by using it for nesting, predating and preventing Curculionidae from extending their galleries.