Other Animal Interactions
If the multiple relationships of A. decemarticulatus were not complex enough, they also commonly interact with an assassin bug, Zelus annulosus, which often resides on H. physophora plants. However, these bugs have adapted physiological and behavioral characteristics that allow them to avoid the predation of A. decemarticulatus, while also maintaining a mutualistic relationship with the plant.
Similar to the ants, Z. annulosus normally lives on younger H. physophora individuals, where the females lay eggs on the stem. As they begin to develop, the young bugs will live among the trichomes of the stem and hunt on the leaves of the plant. The relationship between the assassin bug and the plant acts independently from that between the ants and the plant. One difference between the two relationships, however, is that the assassin bugs do not take any food source from the plant like the ants do.
Z. annulosus has basically adapted to live and hunt around A. decemarticulatus. The assassin bug species uses this particular plant to raise their nymphs because the trichomes of the plant deter larger ant species that may kill the young developing bugs. Also, the bugs secrete a sticky substance that allows them to walk on top of these trichomes, thus avoiding the traps of A. decemarticulatus. So in the relationship between Z. annulosus and H. physophora, the bug receives shelter from potential large predator ants, and the plant received a second line of defense against herbivores. The assassin bug also cohabitates the plant peacefully with the ants. They hunt in similar areas on the plant, but the assassin bugs are suspected to actively avoid any of the ants because they are much quicker than the ants.
Read more about this topic: Allomerus Decemarticulatus
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