Geckos are milking honeydew-producing planthoppers in Madagascar
In this paper we describe for the first time an extraordinary example of an interspecific trophobiotic relation between reptiles and planthoppers in Madagascar. Day gecko species of the genera Phelsuma and Lygodactylus as well as the nocturnal gecko Homopholis sakalava (Grandidier, 1867) show a particular behaviour that induces planthoppers of the family Flatidae to excrete a drop of honeydew in the course of an interspecific key stimulus reaction. Similar behaviour patterns are well known between ants and green flies or planthoppers, but have not been reported for vertebrates.
Keywords: GECKOS; HONEYDEW; MADAGASCAR; MUTUALISM; PLANTHOPPERS; TROPHOBIOSIS
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Department of Morphology and Systematic; University of Bielefeld, Morgenbreede 45, D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany 2: Department of Ethology and Ecology; German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, D-37077 Go¨ttingen, Germany 3: Institute for Zoology and Museum Alexander Koenig Adenauerallee 160, D-53113 Bonn, Germany
Publication date: 01 February 2001
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