959

Ant–Aphid Relations in Costa Rica, Central America 
(Hymenoptera: Formicidae; Hemiptera: Aphididae)

by

Xavier Espadaler1, Nicolás Pérez Hidalgo2 & William Villalobos Muller3

ABSTRACT 

We present the first catalogue of ant-aphid associations (Hymenoptera: 
Formicidae / Hemiptera: Aphididae) of Costa Rica. 29 species of ants and 
18 species of aphids establish 48 relationships. Those interactions seem not 
to be rare in Costa Rica.

Key words: Formicidae. ants, Aphididae. aphids, Costa Rica, Central 
America

RESUMEN 

Se establece el primer catálogo homiga-pulgón (Hymenoptera: Formici-
dae / Hemiptera: Aphididae) de Costa Rica, que consta de 29 especies de 
hormigas y 18 de áfidos que establecen 48 relaciones. Se ofrecen datos sobre 
las especies citadas y se comenta la composición faunística.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Formicidae. Hormigas. Aphididae. Áfidos. Costa 
Rica. Centroamérica.

INTRodUCTIoN

The relationships of ants with Hemiptera in general, and with aphids 
in particular, have been treated in several aspects in many works since the 
1950s (Way 1963; Hölldobler & Wilson 1990; Stadler & dixon 2008). In 
the context of the study of the aphid fauna of Costa Rica, sixty-four aphid 
species (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha: Aphididae) were caught during 2008. 
The aphid catalogue consists now of 89 species (Villalobos et al. 2010; Pé-
rez Hidalgo et al. 2012) and the list of “host plant species − aphid species” 
1 Unidad de Ecología y CREAF, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, 
Spain. e-mail: Xavier.Espadaler@uab.es
2 departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Universidad de León, E-24071, León, Spain. 
e-mail: nperh@unileon.es
3 Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular, Universidad de Costa Rica, 11501-2060, 
San José (Costa Rica). e-mail: william.villalobos@ucr.ac.cr



960  Sociobiolog y Vol. 59,  No. 3, 2012

relationships was compiled by Voegtlin et al. (2003) and complemented by 
Villalobos et al. (2010), Sánchez-Monge et al. (2010) and Pérez Hidalgo et al. 
(2012). The aphid parasitoid fauna of Costa Rica has been recently reviewed 
by Zamora Mejías et al. (2010, 2011). Nevertheless, the association with oth-
ers Arthropods, including ants, has not been suitably studied in Costa Rica. 
Here we attempt to provoke further field research by noting the scarcity of 
published accounts of aphid-ant associations in the Neotropics. As this short 
–but focused- field sampling study shows, aphid-ant associations are indeed 
frequent and deserve enhanced attention.

METHodS

We carried out two intensive aphid collection campaigns in February 
and december 2008, covering almost the entire territory, as well as other 
sporadic expeditions that year and in 2009. The aphids were mainly collected 
by prospecting the plants and they were studied in alcohol or in microscopic 
slides. They are now in the University of Leon Zoological Collection and 
in the University of Costa Rica (Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular) 
collection. The list of aphid species and plants is published in Villalobos et 
al. (2010).

The ants were identified using the excellent available keys, images and 
information at http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/ and the recent 
revision of Linepithema by Wild (2007). Vouchers are in the Museum of 
Zoolog y of Barcelona and the personal collection of X.E.

We did an extensive search at FoRMIS (2011) using as keywords: Co-
lombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, or Venezuela 
ANd aphids, áfidos, hemiptera, coccidae, mealybugs, pulgones, whiteflies, 
or leaf-, plant-, or tree-hoppers. In addition, general textbooks (Beattie 1985; 
Bristow 1991; dixon 1998; Hölldobler & Wilson 1990; Rico-Gray & oliveira 
2007; Stadler & dixon 2008 and reviews by Way (1963), Buckley (1987a, 
b), and delabie (2001) were also specifically searched for Neotropical cases 
of aphid-ant interactions.

RESULTS

A total of 597 samples of aphids with colonies were studied, and only in 
48 of them there were relations with ants (see Appendix). 



961 Espadaler, X. et al. — Ant-Aphid Interactions in Costa Rica

Neotropical aphid-ant literature reports seem to be very scarce
Homoptera-ant relationships are highly diverse in the Neotropics but 

they concern mainly Auchenorrhyncha (treehoppers, mealybugs) and 
non-Aphididae Sternorrhyncha (scales). Aphid-ant relationships reports 
seem to be exceedingly scarce in Costa Rica and, by extension, in Central 
America. Kleinfeldt (1978) noted Crematogaster longispina tending uniden-
tified homoptera on Pentaclethra macroloba (Willd.) Ktze. (Leguminosae) 
and on pejibaye (Bactris utilis Benth. and Hook; Palmae) and Ectatomma 
ruidum tending unidentified aphids on Codonanthe crassifolia (Focke) 
Morton (Gesneriaceae) in Costa Rica. Vergara et al. (2007) mention Sole-
nopsis geminata and Paratrechina sp. tending unidentified Aphididae at the 
Arboretum of Medellín University (Colombia). Ramírez et al. (2001) in 
an extensive survey of deciduous forest fragments in Colombia, mention a 
single association, that of Cerataphis sp. with Dolichoderus bispinosus.

delabie (2001) and delabie & Fernández (2003), in a couple of very use-
ful reviews of the biological intricacies of ant-Homoptera relationships, note 
the commonness of ant-attendance in temperate regions of the Northern 
hemisphere albeit fail to mention but a case of tropical (Asian) aphid-ant 
relationship, that of Pseudoregma sundanica (van der Goot, 1917) with several 
ant species (Schütze & Maschwitz 1991).

Here we have detected 48 aphid-ant associations involving 19 aphid species 
and 29 ant species. Therefore, the image we obtained seems to be in contrast 
with what is currently known.

On the specialist vs. generalist aphid-ant interactions
As a mere exploration of the interactions, the numbers of partners in each 

group (ants, aphids) was analyzed. The frequency distribution of cases in 
which the number of partners is 1, 2, etc. is marginally significant (Table 1; 
collapsing columns 4-9, Chi square = 7.4; 3 d.f.; P = 0.0598) between both 
insect groups. There is a highly biased general distribution towards one-to-
one or few interactions. Thus, we detected 20 ant species interacting with a 
single aphid species, and 6 aphid species attended only by one ant species. 
Some species, though, are able to interact with many partners (8 or 9). Thus, 
Solenopsis geminata (black form) was detected attending eight aphid species 
and the polyphagous, world-wide distributed aphids Aphis gossypii and Aphis 



962  Sociobiolog y Vol. 59,  No. 3, 2012

spiraecola were attended by nine and eight ant species respectively. We refrained 
from performing any nestedness analysis because of the small data base.

dISCUSSIoN

Scarcity of aphid-ant literature reports
Ants are ubiquitous everywhere in the Neotropics (Wilson 1990). Thus, 

the scarcity of aphid-ant interactions in this region is not for shortage of 
ants. Instead, this is attributable to the aphid component, either directly by 
the low number of aphids in the tropics or indirectly by the low density of 
their plant hosts (Bristow 1991; dixon et al. 1987). Notwithstanding, as this 
note shows, there may be geographical areas in which aphid-ant relationships 
are not rare, thus calling for regular, and more focused, field surveys of ant-
aphid interactions in the Neotropical region. A useful example to start from 
would be the revision of aphid-plant associations in Peru by delfino (2005), 
where he notes 66 aphid species and 238 plant species. Nine of those aphid 
species were found in our survey as well. Peronti & Sousa-Silva (2002) listed 
25 aphid species –mostly exotics- from 49 ornamental plant species in São 
Carlos, Brazil. The cosmopolite, polyphagous Aphis gossypii and A. spiraecola 
were the most abundant in their list.

In our aphid study the predominant aphid species (those most frequently 
captured) were A. gossypii and A. spiraecola, which likely have a stable extensive 
presence on a considerable number of plants all over the country. The nearctic 
species, Aphis coreopsidis, always on Bidens pilosa, present a strong relation with 
ants and Aphis craccivora, Hysteroneura setariae, Myzus persicae and Toxoptera 
aurantii, were also frequently captured, and, like the previously mentioned 
species, are alochthonous in Central America and distributed worldwide, 
feeding on a large range of plant species (Blackman & Eastop 2006). Most 
of the remaining aphid species were captured only once or very rarely. Nev-

Table 1. Frequency distribution of the number of aphid or ant species with different partners in 
Costa Rica (Greenidea not included).

Number  of partners 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Aphid species with number 
of partners

6 3 4 2 1 - - 1 1

Ant species with number 
of  partners

20 5 1 2 1 - - 1 -



963 Espadaler, X. et al. — Ant-Aphid Interactions in Costa Rica

ertheless, species that do not establish relations with ants, as Myzus ornatus, 
Brachycaudus helichrysi, Neomyzus circumflexus and Aulacorthum solani have 
been captured often in our study, which confirms the scanty relation that 
aphids, as a group, establish with the ants in this territory.

Specialist vs. generalist aphid-ant interactions
The results reported here contrast with the general non-specificity of aphid-

ant interactions that is theoretically expected (Law & Koptur 1986), and 
usually accepted (Bristow 1991; Stadler & dixon 2008). The current concept 
of ant-homoptera interactions is one of facultative mutualism (Letourneau & 
Choe 1987; delabie & Fernández 2003) depending on scale of analysis, viz. 
at the level of individual trees (Gove & Rico-Gray 2006) or in the context of 
the presence/absence of extrafloral nectaries (oliveira & Freitas 2004).

of course, the most parsimonious hypothesis to explain the high abun-
dance here detected of one-to-one species aphid-ant association, and vice 
versa, is one of defective sampling : our sample might be too small to show 
the expected trend towards a lack of specificity of the ant-aphid interactions. 
An alternative explanation would be that the pattern is genuine in Costa Rica 
but has been unattested for several reasons (scarcity of focused visits, or poor 
attention of aphid taxonomists visiting the Neotropics, or lack of expectancy 
to find those associations). The test of both hypotheses is straightforward: 
more aphid-ant determined field sampling, looking specifically for aphid-ant 
relations. Time will tell.

ACKNoWLEdGMENTS

To John T. Longino for the splendid, and useful, work he is doing on the 
ants of Costa Rica. The authors thank the Agencia Española de Cooperación 
Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECId) [joint project of the universities 
of León and Costa Rica d/010523/07] for supporting this research. XE is 
currently supported by MICINN-FEdER grant CGL2010-18182.

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The Appendix Begins on Page 5



966  Sociobiolog y Vol. 59,  No. 3, 2012

APPENdIX

Ant-aphid-host plant catalogue

Brachymyrmex santschii Menozzi, 1927
  Myzocallis pepperi on Quercus sapotifolia, Frailes, 27-12-2008.
Camponotus atriceps (F. Smith, 1858)
 Cerataphis brasiliensis on Chamaedorea costaricana, San Pedro Montes de 

oca, 27-12-2008.
Camponotus novogranadensis Mayr, 1870
  Aphis coreopsidis on Bidens pilosa, Cervantes, 5-12-2008.
 Greenidea psidii on Psidium sp., San Pedro Montes de oca, 21-12-2008. 

This relation must be considered to be doubtful because in all the samples 
of this species recorded by us in Costa Rica (Pérez Hidalgo et al. 2009) we 
have never observed relations with ants. Probably the ants were attending 
to Coccidae who were present also in the same host plant.

Camponotus planatus Roger, 1863 
 Aphis gossypii on Thunbergia grandiflora, San Pedro Montes de oca, 7-12-

2008.
Camponotus rectangularis Emery 1890
 Aphis craccivora  on Pha seolus v ulgaris , Filadelfia , 23-2-2008. 

Myzocallis discolor (Monell, 1879) on Quercus oleoides, Liberia, 24-12-
2008.

Camponotus striatus (F. Smith, 1862)
 Sitobion avenae on Penisetum purpureum, Nuevo Arenal, 24-12-2008.
Camponotus textor Forel, 1899
 Toxoptera aurantii on unidentifiable plant, Upala, 21-2-2008.
Crematogaster carinata Mayr, 1862
 Aphis gossypii on unidentifiable plant, La Fortuna , 21-2-2008. 

Ap h i s  s p i ra e c o l a  o n  S e n e c i o  s p . ,  L a  Fo r t u n a ,  2 0 - 2 - 2 0 0 8 . 
Toxoptera aurantii on unidentifiable plant, Sarapiqui, 25-12-2008.

Crematogaster limata F. Smith, 1858
 Aphis spiraecola on unidentifiable plant, Agua Buena, Cotobrus, 17-12-

2008.
Ectatomma ruidum (Roger, 1861)
 Aphis gossypii on unidentifiable plant, Tronadora , 24-12-2008.



967 Espadaler, X. et al. — Ant-Aphid Interactions in Costa Rica

Hysteroneura setariae on unidentifiable Gramineae, Liberia, 22-
12-2008. Myzocallis discolor on Quercus oleoides, Liberia, 22-12-
2008. Myzus persicae, without data of host-plant, locality and date. 
Rhopalosiphum maidis on Panicum sp., Liberia, 24-12-2008.

Ectatomma tuberculatum (Olivier, 1792)
 Aphis spiraecola on unidentifiable plant, Monterrey, 21-2-2008; on Iresine 

diffusa, La Fortuna, 24-12-2008. Pseudoregma panicola on Panicum sp., La 
Fortuna, 24-12-2008.

Linepithema angulatum (Emery, 1849)
 Sarucallis kahawaluokalani on Lagerstroemia indica, San Francisco de dos 

Rios, 27-12-2008.
Linepithema iniquum (Mayr, 1870)
 Aphis spiraecola on Conyza canadensis, Braulio Carrillo, 22-12-2008; on 

Phenax rugosus, San Pedro Montes de oca, 5-12-2008.
Linepithema neotropicum Wild, 2007
 Aphis gossypii on Commelina sp., San Pedro Montes de oca, 5-12-2008.
Monomorium floricola ( Jerdon, 1851)
 Aph i s  c ra c c iv o ra  o n  D e sm o di um  sp . ,  Pl ata n er a ,  2 5 - 1 2 - 2 0 0 8 . 

Myzocallis discolor on Quercus oleoides, Liberia, 25-12-2008.
Myrmelachista zeledoni Emery, 1896
 Aphis spiraecola on Phenax rugosus, San Pedro Montes de oca, 5-12-

2008.
Nylanderia steinheili (Forel, 1893)
 Toxoptera citricidus on Crescentia cujete, Sarapiqui, 25-12-2008.
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802)
 Myzus persicae on Catharanthus roseus, San Francisco de dos Rios, 27-12-2008. 

Sarucallis kahawaluokalani on Lagerstroemia indica, San Francisco de dos 
Rios, 27-12-2008.

Pheidole bilimecki Mayr, 1870
 Aphis coreopsidis on Bidens pilosa, San Pedro Montes de oca, 7-12-2008. 

Aphis gossypii on Thunbergia grandiflora, San Pedro Montes de oca, 7-12-2008. 
Aphis spiraecola on Bidens pilosa, Agua Buena, Cotobrus, 18-12-2008. 
Hysteroneura setariae (Thomas, 1878) on Eleusine indica, San Pedro Montes 
de oca, 24-2-2008 and 7-12-2008.



968  Sociobiolog y Vol. 59,  No. 3, 2012

Pheidole fallax Mayr, 1870
 Aphis gossypii on unidentifiable plant, Santo domingo de Heredia, 14-12-

2008.
Pheidole flavens Roger, 1863
 Aphis gossypii on Blechum pyramidatum, La Fortuna, 20-2-2008.
Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793)
 Cerataphis brasiliensis on Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Alajuela, 6-12-

2008.
Pheidole pugnax Dalla Torre, 1892
 Hysteroneura setariae on Oplismenus burmannia, Parque Nacional Santa 

Rosa, 23-12-2008.
Pheidole punctatissima Mayr, 1870
 Toxoptera aurantii on Citrus sp., Coronado, 28-12-2008.
Pheidole variegata Emery, 1896
 Aphis coreopsidis on Bidens pilosa, Frailes, 27-12-2008.
Solenopsis geminata Fabricius 1804 (black form)
 Aphis gossypii on unidentifiable plant, Tronadora, 24-12-2008. Aphis  spiraecola 

on Ixora sp., Aguas Zarcas, San Carlos, 25-12-2008; on Priva lappulacea, 
Cahuita, 25-12-2008.  Hysteroneura setariae on Axonopus sp., Estación 
Experimental 28 Millas, 26-12-2008. Pentalonia nigronervosa on Musa 
sp., Cahuita, 25-12-2008. Rhopalosiphum maidis on unidentifiable 
Gramineae, Upala, 21-2-2008; on Penisetum purpureum, Cahuita, 
25-12-2008. Schizaphis rotundiventris Cyperus sp., Upala, 21-2-2008. 
Tetraneura fusiformis on Eleusine indica, La Fortuna, 21-2-2008. Toxoptera 
citricidus on Citrus limetoides, Sarapiqui, 25-12-2008.

Solenopsis geminata (yellow form)
 Ap h i s  c o r e o p s i d i s  o n  B i d e n s  p i l o s a ,  C e r v a n t e s ,  5 - 1 2 - 2 0 0 8 . 

Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854 on Phaseolus vulgaris, Filadelfia, 23-2-2008.
Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander, 1846)
 Rhopalosiphum maidis on Penisetum purpureum, Cahuita, 25-12-2008.
Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863)
 Aphis gossypii on Commelina sp., Sarapiqui, 25-12-2008. Aphis spiraecola on 

Priva lappulacea, Cahuita, 25-12-2008. Cerataphis brasiliensis on Alpinia 
purpurata, San José, 24-2-2008. Hysteroneura setariae on Eleusine indica, 
Sarapiqui, 25-12-2008.



969 Espadaler, X. et al. — Ant-Aphid Interactions in Costa Rica

Wasmannia sigmoidea (Mayr, 1884)
 Toxoptera aurantii, without data of host-plant, locality and date.

Aphid-ant catalogue

Aphis coreopsidis (Thomas, 1878)
 Camponotus novogranadensis, Pheidole bilimecki, Pheidole variegata, Sole-

nopsis geminata (yellow form)
Aphis craccivora Koch, 1854
 Camponotus rectangularis, Monomorium floricola, Solenopsis geminata 

(yellow form)
Aphis gossypii Glover, 1877
 Camponotus planatus, Crematogaster carinata, Ectatomma ruidum, Linepi-

thema neotropicum, Pheidole bilimecki, Pheidole fallax, Pheidole flavens, 
Solenopsis geminata (black form), Wasmannia auropunctata

Aphis spiraecola Patch, 1914
 Crematogaster carinata, Crematogaster limata, Ectatomma tuberculatum, 

Linepithema iniquum, Myrmelachista zeledoni, Pheidole bilimecki, Solenopsis 
geminata (black form), Wasmannia auropunctata

Cerataphis brasiliensis (Hempel, 1901)
 Camponotus atriceps, Pheidole megacephala, Wasmannia auropunctata
Greenidea psidii van der Goot, 1916
 Camponotus novogranadensis (See comment on this ant species).
Hysteroneura setariae (Thomas, 1878)
 Ectatomma ruidum, Pheidole bilimecki, Pheidole pugnax, Solenopsis geminata 

(black form), Wasmannia auropunctata
Myzocallis discolor (Monell, 1879)
 Camponotus rectangularis, Ectatomma ruidum, Monomorium floricola
Myzocallis pepperi Boudreaux & Tissot, 1962
 Brachymyrmex santschii
Myzus persicae (Sulzer, 1776)
 Ectatomma ruidum, Paratrechina longicornis
Pentalonia nigronervosa Coquerel, 1859
 Solenopsis geminata (black form)
Pseudoregma panicola (Takahashi, 1921)



970  Sociobiolog y Vol. 59,  No. 3, 2012

 Ectatomma tuberculatum
Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch, 1856)
 Ectatomma ruidum, Solenopsis geminata (black form), Tetramorium                  

bicarinatum
Sarucallis kahawaluokalani (Kirkaldy, 1907)
 Linepithema angulatum, Paratrechina longicornis
Schizaphis rotundiventris (Signoret, 1860)
 Solenopsis geminata (black form)
Sitobion avenae (Fabricius, 1775)
 Camponotus striatus
Tetraneura fusiformis Matsumura, 1917
 Solenopsis geminata (black form)
Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe, 1841)
 Camponotus textor, Crematogaster carinata, Pheidole punctatissima,                 

Wasmannia sigmoidea
Toxoptera citricidus (Kirkaldy, 1907)
 Nylanderia steinheili, Solenopsis geminata (black form)