DOI: 10.5061/dryad.47ct0
title: Data from: The influence of host plant extrafloral nectaries on multitrophic interactions: an experimental investigation

description: A field experiment was conducted with outplantings of the native perennial
 shrub Senna mexicana var. chapmanii in a semi-natural area adjacent to
 native pine rockland habitat in southern Florida. The presence of ants and
 the availability of extrafloral nectar were manipulated in a stratified
 random design. Insect communities were monitored and recorded over a
 period of six months with a view to addressing three main questions. Do
 ants provide biotic defense against key herbivores on S. chapmanii? Is the
 presence of ants on S. chapmanii mediated by EFN? Finally, are there
 ecological costs associated with the presence of ants on S. chapmanii,
 such as a reduction in alternative predator or parasitoid numbers?
 Herbivores on S. chapmanii included immature stages of three pierid
 butterflies, and adult weevils. Eight species of ants were associated with
 the plants, and other predators included spiders, ladybugs, wasps, and
 hemipterans. Parasitic, haemolymph-sucking midges (Ceratopogonidae) and
 parasitoid flies were also associated with the caterpillar herbivores, and
 possibly the extrafloral nectaries of the plants. The presence of ants did
 not appear to influence oviposition by butterflies, as numbers of
 lepidopterans of all developmental stages did not differ among treatments.
 Significantly more late instar caterpillars, however, were observed on
 plants with ants excluded, indicating that ants remove small caterpillars
 from plants. Substantially more alternative predators (spiders, ladybugs,
 and wasps) were observed on plants with ants excluded. Rates of
 parasitization did not differ among the treatments, but there were
 substantially fewer caterpillars succumbing to virus among those collected
 from control plants. We provide a rare look at facultative ant-plant
 mutualisms in the context of the many other interactions with which they
 overlap. We conclude that ants provide some biotic defense against
 herbivores on S. chapmanii, and plants benefit overall from the presence
 of ants, despite negative impacts on non-ant predators.
description: Arthropods on Senna
 mexicana var. chapmannii plants in plantation at TREC, Homestead, Florida
 2003-2004Plants were established,
 then manipulated throughout the growing season, and weekly observations
 were made of arthropods. Columns of data are: Plant number; date; block;
 treatment (1 = TF = tanglefoot; 2 = C = control; 3 = NP = nail polish; 4 =
 NPC = nail polish control); status (plant alive, sick, dead); sulfurcp
 (eggs and larvae of Pieridae); flysuck (Ceratopogonidae); tortricid
 (larvae tying stem tips); spider; bug predators; wasp predators; ladybug
 (Cocinellidae); fire ants (Solenopsis); Tiny brown ants (Brachymyrmex);
 Large Black Ants (Camponotus rasilis & C. sexguttatus); Odontomyrmex;
 crazy ants (Paratrechina); Camponotus abdominalis; weevils; Pseudomyrmex
 elongatus; Pseudomyrmex mexicanus (=P. gracilis); snakes (occasionally
 around or in plants). For all ant species, Ceratopogonidae, weevils, only
 presence/absence on plant was noted (1 = present).casbahdatasortedfeb04.xlscpvoucherTREC2003These data are for individual caterpillars 3rd instar and beyond collected from experimental plants and brought to the lab for rearing. Columns in the file are: Number (collection number, each caterpillar is a separate record, some multiple in one collection number - initially renumbered with decimals, that convention later abandoned); plant number (same as in other file); Collection date; Life History stage (instar); Caterpillar species (s.o. = sleepy orange, Abaeis nicippe; c.s. = cloudless sulfur, Phoebis sennae; o.b.s. = orange-barred sulfur, Phoebis philea); Pupated (yes/no); Pupation date; Adult M/F (No or sex); Parasitized; Virus; Moldy; Discontinued date; comments.