Ants asociated to extrafloral nectaries of two species of Inga trees in coffee plantations of Cauca, Colombia

摘要

The ant communities in the extrafloral nectaries of shade Inga edulis e I. densiflora (‘guamo’) trees and in the leaf litter of two coffee farms at Villanueva village, Popayán municipality, were identified. Bait collection, extraction of leaf litter by means of mini-Winkler and direct manual capture were carried out. A total of 43 ant species, distributed in 17 genera and seven subfamilies was found. Results show that ant species that inhabit trees are different from ant species than leaf litter dwelling ants. However, thanks to their foraging habits, some ant species may pass from one to the other stratum. It is concluded that shade trees, such as guamo trees, are important both to maintain mutualistic ant-plant interactions and to promote diversity conservation. Additionally, the presence of shade trees may indirectly contribute to provide phytosanitary ecosystem services given that some ant species, such as Crematogaster and Camponotus, might serve as potential biological control agents for pest insects.