Trail Chemicals of the Convergens Ladybird Beetle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hippodamia convergens</Emphasis>, Reduce Feeding and Oviposition by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diaphorina citri</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) on Citrus Plants

We investigated feeding and oviposition behavior of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, when exposed to the foraging trails of the convergens ladybird beetle, Hippodamia convergens. Diaphorina citri females feeding on citrus leaves directly exposed to the ladybird adults or treated with trail extract excreted significantly less honeydew droplets than controls. The trail chemicals of the ladybird beetle also decreased oviposition by D. citri females on citrus. In a no-choice experiment, D. citri females preferred to oviposit on control flush and plants than those with ladybird trail-extract treatments. In two-choice experiments, 68.0% of D. citri released into cages exhibited strong selection preference for settling and eventual oviposition on control plants than plants treated with ladybird trail extract. Diaphorina citri eggs were found on all new leaf flush of control plants, whereas only 29.5% of flush on treatment plants were selected for oviposition. The trail chemical deposited by the convergens ladybird beetle elicits repellency of D. citri feeding and oviposition. Therefore, the trail chemicals my contain components that could be useful for behavior-based management of D. citri and HLB disease by reducing psyllid feeding and oviposition.     

Suitability of Different Prey Aphids on the Growth,Development and Reproduction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi</Emphasis> (Esben-Petersen) (Chrysopidae: Neuroptera)

The prey preference of polyphagous predator, green lacewing (Chrysoperla zastrowi sillemi (Esben-Petersen)) was evaluated against five prey aphids viz., mustard aphid (Lipaphis erysimi), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), cabbage aphid (Brevicorynebrassicae), black bean aphid (Aphis craccivora), spirea aphid (Aphis spiraecola) of agriculture importance and compared with eggs of Corcyracephalonica (Stainton). Lacewing larvae preferred Myzus persicae most followed by Brevicorynebrassicae. The highest growth index (8.31), larval survival (94.50 %), larval weight (10.45 mg), pupal weight (8.78 mg), faster multiplication rate (0.051) and fecundity (183.4 per gravid female) of the predator were recorded on M. persicae. However, the chrysopid reared on Corcyra eggs performed best in all biological parameters and fitness, than on aphid preys. This study explores the possibilities of selecting the most suitable prey aphid species for its exploitation as supplement for mass multiplication of chrysopid during off-season or unavailability of Corcyra eggs.     

Establishment and yearly/seasonal occurrence of the exotic coccidophagous ladybird <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptolaemus montrouzieri</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in citrus groves in Shizuoka City,central Japan: a 5-year survey on adult numbers

Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a ladybird native to Australia, preying on mealybugs and soft scales, and has been utilized worldwide as a biological control agent. It has long been recognized that C. montrouzieri that was introduced into the main island of Japan had failed to become established. The present study monitored yearly and seasonal occurrence of C. montrouzieri adults in citrus groves at Shizuoka Prefectural Fruit Tree Research Center in Shizuoka City, central Japan in 2008–2012 by using sticky traps and beating citrus trees. Adults of C. montrouzieri were continuously captured for 5 and 4 years in a pesticide-free citrus grove and a neighboring reduced-pesticide grove, respectively. Larvae of C. montrouzieri were observed consuming a cottony scale, Pulvinaria aurantii Cockerell, on citrus trees. These results provide unequivocal evidence for the ladybird’s establishment in central Japan. The number of trapped ladybird adults exhibited four peaks a year: in mid-April, early to late June, mid-August, and late September to early October. Adult numbers in each grove varied largely across years, showing a great increase followed by a rapid decline during a period of 4 years. Factors affecting the seasonal/yearly occurrence of C. montrouzieri adults in citrus groves are discussed.     

Ant–aphid relations in the south of Western Siberia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae; Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Aphids, the main suppliers of energy-rich honeydew, play an important role in the life of ants. However, the data on the trophobiotic ant–aphid associations in the majority of regions are still limited. We present the first data on the ant–aphid relations in the south of Western Siberia. Investigations were carried out in the most typical biotopes of forest-steppe and steppe zones in the territory of Novosibirsk and Kurgan regions (Russia) during 1993–2014. There were revealed 35 species of ants and 198 species of aphids. Detected 456 ant–aphid associations involved 28 ant species and 134 myrmecophilous aphids. Seven ant species were found to consume honeydew of 9 non-myrmecophilous aphids, scraping it from the plant. This behaviour is typical of subdominant and subordinate ants which do not protect their foraging areas. Ants associate with various numbers of aphid species. About 36% of ants attended aphid colonies of less than 5 species. The largest number of myrmecophilous aphids is associated with L. niger (Linnaeus, 1758) (103 species), Formica pratensis Retzius, 1783 (50), Formica rufa group (25–33), F. (Serviformica) fusca Linnaeus, 1758 (26) and F. (S.) cunicularia Latreille, 1798 (27). Different ants play unequal roles in the formation of trophobiotic interactions with aphids. Due to complex territorial and foraging behaviour, including high functional specialization among honeydew collectors, dominant ants of Formica s. str. are one of the leaders in this process. The role of L. niger and Formica ants of the subgenus Serviformica requires further detailed investigation.     

Natural enemy composition rather than richness determines pest suppression

Natural enemy (NE) biodiversity is thought to play an important role in agricultural pest suppression. However, the relative importance of the number of NE species (species richness), versus the particular combinations of species (species composition), in determining aphid suppression and ultimately crop yields, remains poorly understood. We tested the effects of NE richness and composition on pea aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) and broad bean plants Vicia faba (Linn.). We used the larvae of two predator species, the ladybird Adalia bipunctata (Linn.) and the green lacewing Chrysopa carnea (Stephens), and the parasitic wasp Aphidius ervi (Haliday) as enemies. NEs generally reduced aphid density but did not increase final plant biomass, despite a significant negative correlation between aphid density and plant biomass. Among NE treatments, species richness had an inconsistent effect on aphid density. The composition of NEs within richness levels also affected final aphid density: the ladybird was a key species among the treatments in controlling aphid density and was especially effective in combination with the parasitoid. This ladybird/parasitoid combination also appeared to drive the higher level of suppression observed at the two, relative to three, species richness levels. Although these three species of aphid NEs are commonly used in aphid control, this is the first study, to our knowledge, that simultaneously examined these three species and highlighted the composition effect between the A. bipunctata and A. ervi. In conclusion, increasing NE species richness had an inconsistent effect on aphid density. Meanwhile, the presence of a key species (the ladybird) and its combination with a parasitoid was an important determinant of aphid biological control.     

Effects of alien invasion by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombus terrestris</Emphasis> L. (Apidae) on the visitation patterns of native bumblebees in coastal plants in northern Japan

When alien pollinator species enter a native community of pollinators in which resource partitioning has been established, the pollination network between plants and pollinators may be modified through the interactions between the pollinators over the use of floral resources. We observed the floral-use patterns of native (Bombus hypocrita and B. deuteronymus) and alien (B. terrestris) bumblebee species in a coastal grassland in northern Japan. We analyzed the factors determining resource partitioning patterns. B. hypocrita tended to visit flowers with shallow or wide open corollas, such as Rosa rugosa, whereas B. deuteronymus visited flowers with complex or deeper corollas, such as Lathyrus japonicus. Given the wider floral preference of B. terrestris, floral use by the alien bumblebees consistently overlapped with that of native bumblebees. The visitation of B. terrestris to R. rugosa flowers was positively correlated with that of B. hypocrita. These bumblebee species frequently used similar floral resources, in part because of the large overlap in the seasonality of their foraging activity. The visitation frequency of B. deuteronymus to L. japonicus flowers was independent of the visitation frequency of other bumblebee species. The major visitation periods of the bumblebees to L. japonicus flowers reciprocally differed between B. deuteronymus and B. terrestris, suggesting phenological resource partitioning between these species. Our study suggests that phenological niche partitioning is more common in specialized flowers (L. japonicus) than in generalized flowers (R. rugosa).     

Functional convergence and phenotypic divergence in two specialist species of pine-associated ladybirds

Traditionally, convergent evolution has been considered to produce phenotypic similarity in independently evolved species. By contrast, recent studies have detected morphological divergence between species even in similar selective environments when different morphological traits combine to produce a specific functional output. However, it is still unclear whether a complex combination of non-morphological phenotypic traits, such as behavioural and life-history traits, can produce a similar performance in different species. In this study, I examined prey capture performance and related phenotypes in two sympatric ladybird species, Sospita oblongoguttata and Harmonia yedoensis, which specialize on the giant pine aphid, which is known to be elusive for ladybird hatchlings. In particular, I focused on egg size and proportion of trophic eggs in the clutch, since the amount of maternal investment per offspring can contribute to prey capture performance of ladybird hatchlings. Predation success of hatchlings against the giant pine aphid was higher in both S. oblongoguttata and H. yedoensis than in Harmonia axyridis, a generalist ladybird species that feeds on various kinds of aphid species in nature. Sospita oblongoguttata females, however, produced relatively larger eggs and in most clutches provided no trophic eggs, whereas H. yedoensis females produced smaller eggs and provided more trophic eggs per clutch. Moreover, hatchling morphology in H. yedoensis more closely resembled that of its congener, H. axyridis, than that of the more distantly related S. oblongoguttata, although like H. yedoensis, S. oblongoguttata predates on the elusive pine aphid. These results in two pine-associated specialist ladybirds indicate that divergent phenotypes can nonetheless have similar prey capture performance. In conclusion, this work demonstrates that the general ultimate function can be achieved by various mechanisms through convergence that operates at different level of life.     

Seasonal and yearly change in adult abundance of a predacious ladybird <Emphasis Type="Italic">Serangium japonicum</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and the citrus whitefly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dialeurodes citri</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in citrus groves

Serangium japonicum Chapin (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) chiefly attacks whiteflies. This study monitored the adult occurrence of the ladybird and the citrus whitefly Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in citrus groves in central Japan using sticky traps, thereby examining temporal relationships in their abundance. Many S. japonicum adults were captured in a pesticide-free grove where D. citri adults were very abundant, with few adults in neighboring (organic, reduced pesticide, and conventional) groves harboring small numbers of D. citri. The whitefly adults exhibited a large peak in numbers in late May to early June. Two peaks of the ladybird adult numbers were detected in late May to early June and late June to mid-July, ?6 to 7 days, and nearly 1 month after the peak in whitefly adult numbers, respectively. The ladybird adults found during the first peak period would be those that visited citrus trees mainly for oviposition, and the adults caught during the second peak period would be those that newly emerged after consuming immature whiteflies at the larval stage. Based on a yearly change in adult numbers in the pesticide-free grove, i.e., a large increase in S. japonicum numbers followed by a rapid decline in D. citri numbers, the ladybird’s role in controlling the whitefly is discussed.     

Capacity assessment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myzus persicae,Aphis gossypii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aphis spiraecola</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to acquire and retain PVY<Superscript>NTN</Superscript> in Tunisia

The study was carried out to investigate the ability of three aphids, Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii and Aphis spiraecola, to acquire and retain the Potato Virus Y (PVY) isolate, PVY^NTN. Tobacco plants, Nicotiana tabacum var. Xanthi, were used as test plant for the virus inoculation and aphid acquisition. The serological test double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied for virus detection on the test plants and aphids. Furthermore, virus retention by aphids was also assessed using a monoclonal anti-PVY^N. Although a duration of 2 min was enough for the virus acquisition, the three tested aphids showed different capacities to retain PVY^NTN. The retention of PVY^NTN was 3 h for M. persicae and A. spiraecola, and 2 h for A. gossypii. This study provides basic information of the virus retention by potato-colonizing aphid species, which may increase our understanding of PVY epidemiology in Tunisia.     

Species assemblages of ladybirds including the harlequin ladybird <Emphasis Type="Italic">Harmonia axyridis</Emphasis>: a comparison at large spatial scale in urban habitats

We evaluated the status of native ladybird assemblages in the presence of the non-native ladybird Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) in three European countries. To achieve this, we assessed the abundance of ladybirds from common host plants in urban areas of Great Britain, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic in 2014. We determined (i) the effects of season, host plant, location, abundance of H. axyridis and aphids on the ladybird species assemblage, (ii) the relationship between ladybird abundance and aphid density, (iii) the relationship between diversity of native ladybird species and the abundance of H. axyridis. There was a non-linear relationship between abundance of ladybirds and abundance of aphids but we found the abundance of other ladybird species was not correlated with H. axyridis. We highlight the value of large-spatial scale studies for revealing patterns in community assemblages and ultimately informing understanding of ecosystem resilience.     

Occurrence of two types of larvae of the Asian seaperch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lateolabrax</Emphasis>) in the estuaries of northern Vietnam

Lateolabrax sp. larvae were collected in the Tien Yen and Kalong estuaries of northern Vietnam, the southernmost locality for this genus distribution. Vietnamese Lateolabrax sp. larvae could be distinguished from those of L. japonicus by pigmentation patterns. Their morphological, meristic and pigmentation characters were closer to those of Chinese Lateolabrax than L. japonicus, so Vietnamese Lateolabrax is likely situated as a population of the Chinese one. Morphometric and pigmentation characters of larvae from the two estuaries differed, suggesting that Lateolabrax of northern Vietnam are diversified and consist of at least two different breeding stocks.     

Modelling the potential geographic distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trissolcus japonicus</Emphasis>: a biological control agent of the brown marmorated stink bug, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Halyomorpha halys</Emphasis>

Trissolcus japonicus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) is an endoparasitoid of the eggs of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a major agricultural pest native to China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. We used CLIMEX to estimate the potential global distribution of T. japonicus with particular reference to New Zealand. In its native range the model predicts the presence, or a potential expansion, of T. japonicus into most of humid-subtropical and humid-continental areas. Globally, the model projects that many temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical areas could suit the establishment of T. japonicus. In New Zealand, the north appears moderately to highly suitable for T. japonicus, while southern regions are mostly marginal. The risk posed by T. japonicus to non-target species in New Zealand is predicted to vary between different non-targets. CLIMEX projections of the potential distribution of T. japonicus provide guidance for release sites of this parasitoid if approved for importation and release in New Zealand.     

Development of Species-Specific InDel Markers in Citrus

Citrus taxonomy is complex owing to the existence of a wide range of species: Poncirus is used mainly for rootstock; Fortunella produces small fruit and edible pericarp; and Citrus comprises the most widespread fruit crop species worldwide. Rapidly increasing genome resources from different citrus species facilitate the development of convenient and genome-wide molecular markers that can be applied to both inter- and intra-species analyses. In this study, by comparing the genome sequences of four citrus species, a set of 1958 InDels were identified and 453 candidate InDels were converted into PCR-based markers. Among these candidate InDels, 268 (65%) exhibited length polymorphisms from 30 bp to 200 bp when applied to seven species from the genera Poncirus, Fortunella and Citrus. Seven InDel markers exhibited high intraspecific polymorphisms in a natural pummelo population. The results showed that the InDel markers are effective for both inter- and intra-specific variation and identification analyses. These InDel markers are expected to be applied to germplasm identification, phylogenetic analysis, genetic diversity evaluation and marker-assisted breeding in citrus.     

Spatio-temporal variation of strawberry aphid populations and their parasitoids

Aphids are common herbivores in the strawberry crop that can reduce plant vigor and fruit quality and also transmit viruses. Aphid species prefer diverse plant organs, which represent particular habitats of different quality for aphids and for the development of natural enemies’ populations. Different habitat units (young leaves, mature leaves, buds, flowers) of strawberry were sampled fortnightly during all seasons. We identified seven aphid species, namely Chaetosiphon fragaefolii, Aphis gossypii, and Macrosiphum euphorbiae, the most abundant. During the autumn, C. fragaefolli and M. euphorbiae were scarce and A. gossypii was denser on mature leaves, while during summer M. euphorbiae was absent. During the winter, C. fragaefolii predominated on buds and young leaves, A. gossypii on flowers, and both species on mature leaves. During the spring, C. fragaefolii was even more abundant on buds, A. gossypii predominated on mature leaves, and the three species were equally abundant on flowers and young leaves. Parasitoids emerged from A. gossypii, M. euphorbiae and Myzus persicae, but not from C. fragaefolii. Three Aphidius and two Aphelinus species were recovered. All primary parasitoid species emerged from A. gossypii, and secondary parasitoids emerged only from this aphid. Aphis gossypii parasitism on mature leaves was markedly higher in winter and summer than in autumn and spring. Parasitism of A. gossypii was independent of its density, and the number of parasitized aphids was never higher than six. Our results contribute to define the most appropriate sample unit to estimate aphid density of different species and provide information about seasonal natural parasitism.     

Comparative analysis of otolith morphology in three species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scomber</Emphasis>

Geometric morphometrics is a quick and reliable approach to differentiate fish stocks based on the variation of otolith shapes. In this study, morphometric analysis of otolith shapes was used to differentiate three species of Scomber. The sagittae morphology of S. scombrus otolith is totally different from that of S. japonicus and S. australasicus. Multivariate analysis consistently showed that S. japonicus was morphologically similar to S. australasicus, whereas a significant difference in otolith shapes was detected between S. scombrus and other two species of Scomber. The rostrum, antirostrum, excisural notch and dorsal-posterior margin of the otolith reflect the main variations between the three species of Scomber. Shape indices and Fourier coefficients were used to discriminate fish species using analysis of variance and Fisher discriminant analysis. The shape indices successfully differentiated 100%, 95.7% and 96.4% of otoliths in S. japonicus, S. australasicus and S. scombrus, respectively, while the Fourier coefficients only discriminated 70.0%, 61.9% and 91.3% of the sagittae in S. japonicus, S. australasicus and S. scombrus. This study indicates that the shape analysis on the sagittae morphometrics of otoliths is a better method to differentiate species of Scomber.     

Vetch aphid, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Megoura crassicauda</Emphasis> (Hemiptera: Aphididae), parasitism does not reduce the bean production of narrow-leaved vetch, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vicia sativa</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">nigra</Emphasis> (Fabaceae)

Megoura crassicauda Mordvilko (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a dominant aphid species found on Vicia sativa subsp. nigra (L.) Ehrh. (Fabaceae) in the spring. Worker ants of Formica japonica, the dominant ant species attracted to the extrafloral nectaries of V. s. nigra, often attack ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata), which are aphid enemies. However, the workers of F. japonica do not attack or exclude M. crassicauda, the non-myrmecophilous aphid. It appears that the “bodyguard” retained by the plant guards the plant’s herbivore by attacking the herbivores’ enemies, rather than guarding the plant itself. The relationship between V. s. nigra and M. crassicauda was observed in the field to examine and evaluate the cost of parasitism. Parasitism by M. crassicauda delayed flower bud formation markedly in V. s. nigra but did not kill the plants. V. s. nigra plants that were parasitized showed a net bean production similar to that of the non-parasitized controls. The parasitism rate of M. crassicauda increased when extrafloral nectaries were used by F. japonica. These results may indicate that M. crassicauda provides V. s. nigra with benefits by preventing other serious disadvantages.     

Diversity of the Most Commonly Reported Facultative Symbionts in Two Closely-Related Aphids with Different Host Ranges

Richness and abundance of facultative symbionts vary strongly with aphid species and genotype, symbiont strain, host plant, biogeography, and a number of abiotic factors. Despite indications that aphids in the same ecological niche show similar levels of facultative symbiont richness, existing reports do not consider the potential role of host plants on aphid microbial community. Little is known about how oligophagy and polyphagy may be influenced by secondary symbiont distribution, mainly because studies on secondary symbiont diversity are biased towards polyphagous aphids from the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we demonstrate the richness and abundance of the most common aphid-associated facultative symbionts in two tropical aphid species, the oligophagous Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus (Kirkaldy) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the polyphagous Aphis aurantii (Boyer de Fonscolombe) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Aphis citricidus is restricted to Citrus sp. host plants and closely related genera, whereas A. aurantii successfully exploits a wide variety of host plants from different families. Both were collected in the same ecological niche and our data basically indicated the same richness of secondary symbionts, but the abundance at which secondary symbionts occurred was very distinct between the two species. Spiroplasma was the most abundant facultative symbiont associated with A. citricidus and A. aurantii in the ecological niche studied. Single and multiple secondary symbiont infections were observed, but diversity of multiple infections was particularly high in A. citricidus. We discuss our findings and suggest hypotheses to explain causes and consequences of the differences in secondary symbiont diversity observed between these two aphid species.     

Determining the effects of life stage,shared prey density and host plant on intraguild predation of a native lacewing (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chrysoperla carnea</Emphasis>) by an invasive coccinellid (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Harmonia axyridis</Emphasis>)

Negative impacts of non-native Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) on members of the native aphid enemy guild have been widely hypothesised but mainly only assessed with other coccinellid species, and mostly in small experimental arenas. Here we investigated the interactions between H. axyridis and Chrysoperla carnea Stephens larvae. In small-scale (Petri dish) arenas 2nd-instar C. carnea were at risk of predation from larval (2nd and 4th-instar) and adult (male and female) H. axyridis while 3rd-instar C. carnea were only at minimal risk from 4th-instar and adult female H. axyridis. Plant species, aphid species and aphid density did not affect intraguild predation of 2nd-instar C. carnea by 4th-instar and adult H. axyridis in mesocosm experiments. Chrysoperla carnea consumed similar numbers of Megoura viciae Buckton, Aphis fabae Scop. and Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris aphids while H. axyridis consumed fewer M. viciae than the other two species. The greatest suppression of A. pisum was achieved in treatments with both C. carnea and H. axyridis. Life stage and the sex of H. axyridis as well as the life stage of C. carnea are important variables affecting intraguild predation and these attributes should be considered when assessing the potential threat of other potentially invasive alien predators.     

The impact of ant attendance on protecting <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aphis gossypii</Emphasis> against two aphidophagous predators and it’s role on the Intraguild Predation between them

In this study the changes in Aphis gossypii Glover populations tended by the homopteran- tending ant, Tapinoma simrothi Krausse when exposed to the natural enemies Chrysoperla carnea Stephens and Coccinellia septempunctata Mulsant was studied. We also studied the effect of ant’s attendance on the consequence of intraguild predation (IGP) between these two predators. The presence of ants T. simrothi had deterrent impact on natural enemies of A. gossypii compared to control aphid populations in absence of ants. Equally we observed that IGP between two aphid predators decreased when T. simrothi was present. The lowest IGP level was observed when both aphids and ants were present in the microcosm arena. In the microcosm arena the presence of ants had an indirect effect on the occurrence of IGP. Our results suggest that although the mutualistic ants have an indirect impact on the IGP by aphidophages predators, but their roles should not be ignored.     

Ambush Predation of Stingless Bees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetragonisca angustula</Emphasis>) by the Solitary-Foraging Ant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ectatomma tuberculatum</Emphasis>

Social insect colonies are high-value foraging targets for insectivores, prompting the evolution of complex colony defensive adaptations as well as specialized foraging tactics in social insect predators. Predatory ants that forage on other social insects employ a diverse range of behaviors targeted at specific prey species. Here, we describe a solitary foraging strategy of the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum, on nest guards of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. We observed multiple instances of E. tuberculatum ambushing and successfully capturing the hovering and standing guards of T. angustula near nest entrances. The unique hovering behavior of the guard caste of this bee species, an adaptation to frequent cleptoparasitism by other stingless bees, may make these guards particularly vulnerable to ground-based, ambush attacks by E. tuberculatum. Likewise, the behavior of the foraging ants appears to adaptively exploit the defensive formations and activity patterns of these bees. These observations suggest an adaptive and targeted predatory strategy aimed at gathering external guard bees as prey from these heavily fortified nests.