FOLIAR NECTAR PRODUCTION AND ANT ACTIVITY ON A NEOTROPICAL TREE, OCHROMA-PYRAMIDALE

The 2nd growth forest in lowland Costa Rica, ants [Azteca, Solenopcis, Monacis and Crematogaster] forage at the foliar nectaries of juvenile O. pyramidale. The relationship between leaf development, foliar nectar production and ant visitation indicates that nectar secretion and ant maintenance are greatest following rapid leaf expansion. Nectar measurements in the glasshouse corroborate field measurements showing that nectar production on a sapling is continuous through time and correlated with distribution and abundance of ants within a sapling. The presence of 2 nectary types, leaf vein and petiolar, on the leaves of O. pyramidale results in the continual maintenance of ants on the leaf undersurface. Nectar production of a sapling increases with increasing leaf area resulting in greater number of ants per sapling. Energetic costs of nectar production and ant maintenance appear low, representing about 1% of the total energy invested in leaves. Spatial and diurnal patterns of ant activity changed very little over the study period. Removal and exclusion of ants from saplings results in the utilization of foliar nectar by trigonid bees. A significant difference in leaf damage between ant-visited and unvisited saplings, coupled with ant behavioral characteristics, suggests that ants act as antiherbivore agents on Ochroma.