FIRST RECORD OF Crematogaster carinata (FORMICIDAE) NESTING IN THE FRUITS OF Macropsychanthus (LEGUMINOSAE: PAPILIONOIDEAE)

Abstract

Most of the ants that are associated with plants usually nests in vegetative organs such as stems, leaves o petioles. Aiming to contribute to the plant-insect interactions, we report the first record of Crematogaster carinata nesting inside the fruits of Macropsychanthus comosus. We did fieldwork in two localities of department of Antioquia and one of the Bolivar department, we opened 32 pods and determined the insects inside them. We found Crematogaster carinata and a beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) inside. 15 of the 32 pods had ants (47 %), but only seven of them had queens (22 %). The ants left the falling pods. The beetle larvae drilled 15 seeds (14 %). This report points the importance of the research in legume-insect interactions, ant-behavior, trophic webs, and trade-off relationships research.