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Ipoella porriginosa
A lone flushed pink hopper produces a clear droplet of nectar for two local ants.
On eucalyptus stem in open treelined sports field.
Ipoella porriginosa (Signoret) - These treehoppers suck the plant juice. Within the juice, there are water and sugar - more than the leafhoppers need - so they are excreted as honeydew. The ants come for their honey dew and will protect the hoppers from other possible predators. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/Ipoella+po...
4 Comments
This might be a form of mutualism, like the relationship between ants & aphids, where the ants protect the aphids in exchange for the honeydew the aphids release. Maybe the ants protect the leaf hopper in exchange for the liquid it's producing?
Nice pics!can u tell more about what they r doin?
love this spotting !
Beautiful pics!