Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Ants (Formicoidea) » Ants (Formicidae) » Formicinae » Formicini » Wood ants, mound ants, & field ants (Formica) » fusca group (Formica fusca group) » Formica montana
Photo#279082
ant tending treehopper - Formica montana
Copyright © 2009 John Pearson

ant tending treehopper - Formica montana
Ackworth, Warren County, Iowa, USA
May 24, 2009
Size: ~6 mm
This small treehopper was immobile on the midvein of a sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus) leaf and tended by a lone ant (Formica subsericea?). The ant would wander away briefly but always rush back to "check" on the treehopper.

I found two more examples of this situation, one on a different leaf of the same plant:


and one on a different plant:

Images of this individual: tag all
ant tending treehopper - Formica montana treehopper tended by ant (1 of 3) - Publilia reticulata
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by John Pearson on 24 May, 2009 - 11:42am
Last updated 4 April, 2017 - 1:03am

Moved
Moved from Publilia reticulata.
… John R. Maxwell, 4 April, 2017 - 1:03am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Formica montana.
… v belov, 4 April, 2017 - 12:39am login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Publilia.
… Charley Eiseman, 23 June, 2009 - 2:36pm login or register to post comments

Moved
Moved from Free-living Hemipterans.
… john and jane balaban, 4 June, 2009 - 9:44pm login or register to post comments

Update and guess
When I checked on the hopper/ant situation in the afternoon yesterday (Sunday), the air temperature had warmed considerably and a strong wind was pushing the leaves around. Several of the hoppers had moved away from the midvein of the leaf and were clinging to the edge (a better grip there?). Some had disappeared from the leaves entirely. Several ants were running across the empty leaves ("searching" for "lost" hoppers?). When I again checked on them this morning (Monday), hoppers were again on leaves being tended by ants.

This morning, MJ Hatfield commented in an Iowa Insects note that she observed Membracid hoppers being tended by ants on Friday. I looked up this group in the BugGuide gallery and speculate that my hoppers are in this group as well; in particular, the genus Publilia looks similar to me (novice), but I'll wait for an expert ID. Here's a link into that BG gallery:
… John Pearson, 25 May, 2009 - 11:03am login or register to post comments

 
The ant is Formica montana, a
The ant is Formica montana, an ant I would describe as mousy gray-brown. F. subsericea is charcoal colored, with silvery pubescence (or almost silky, as its name implies).
… James C. Trager, 26 May, 2009 - 2:02pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact