Open access journal: http://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology
ISSN: 0361-6525

Sociobiology 60(3): September (2013)

Editorial

 Special Issue on Arthropod-plant Interactions

 Sociobiology is a journal dedicated to the study of social insects. Thus, social behavior, 
taxonomic aspects, life history studies and behavioral ecology of ants, bees and wasps prevail 
in published papers. However, these animals present in their biology a long history of evolved 
and coevolved interactions with plants. This evolution timeline began firstly with social insects 
as herbivores, chewing on leaves, roots, buds and petals. Then, later evolutionary radiation of 
some groups allowed the rise of those species that could feed on pollen or suck exudates, 
secretions and soft plnT tissues. This evolutionary history continued later on when social insects 
established several harmonic relationships with plants, such as pollination, seed dispersion and 
plant protection. These relationships are indeed very common in all natural systems. Although 
the implications of these insect-plant interactions to the comprehension of the structure and 
function of natural communities are enormous, articles with such an approach are very few 
in Sociobiology. For this main reason and to stimulate the publication of this type of studies 
in Sociobiology the editors decided to support this special issue and we are very happy with 
the results. People of four continents contributed with research conducted in totally different 
ecosystems, involving bees, wasps, ants and associated fauna and flora. We hope that several 
of the papers published here will have a significant impact on our comprehension of how social 
insects impact plant-animal interactions in natural communities. We are very thankful to every 
colleague that believed in this idea.

Kleber Del-Claro
Helena Maura Torenzan-Silingardi
Gilberto M. M. Santos
Evandro N. Silva
Cândida Maria Lima Aguiar

Editors for this Special Issue

Sociobiology
An international journal on social insects