The Beltian bodies of A. cornigera evolved in symbiosis with P. ferruginea.
A Beltian body is a detachable tip found on the pinnules of some species of Acacia and closely related genera. Beltian bodies, named after Thomas Belt, are rich in lipids, sugars and proteins and often red in colour. They are believed to have evolved in a symbiotic relationship with ants. The ants live inside special plant structures (domatia) or near the plant and keep away herbivores.[citation needed]
Other ant-mutualism related plant structures include Beccarian, Mullerian and pearl bodies.[1][2]
Unique among spiders for its predominantly herbivorous diet, Bagheera kiplingi feeds almost exclusively on Beltian bodies.[3]
^Eubanks, Micky D.; Kimberly A. Nesci; Mette K. Petersen; Zhiwei Liu; Horacio Bonfil Sanchez (1997). "The exploitation of an ant-defended host plant by a shelter-building herbivore" (PDF). Oecologia. 109 (3): 454–460. Bibcode:1997Oecol.109..454E. doi:10.1007/s004420050105. PMID 28307543. S2CID 841415.
^Herrera, Carlos M.; Olle Pellmyr (2002). Plant-animal Interactions: An Evolutionary Approach. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-632-05267-8.
^Meehan, Christopher J.; Eric J. Olson; Matthew W. Reudink; T. Kurt; Robert L. Curry (2009). "Herbivory in a spider through exploitation of an ant–plant mutualism". Current Biology. 19 (19): 1591–1682. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.08.049. PMID 19825348. S2CID 27885893.
A Beltianbody is a detachable tip found on the pinnules of some species of Acacia and closely related genera. Beltianbodies, named after Thomas Belt...
the ants that attempt to guard the Beltianbodies (their food source) against intruders. Although the Beltianbodies account for over 90% of B. kiplingi...
ant plants are extrafloral nectaries, domatia, and (least commonly) Beltianbodies. Plant domatia are formed nesting sites provided by the plant in the...
nectaries on the leaf-stalk and small lipid-rich food-bodies at the tips of the leaflets called Beltianbodies. In return, the ants add protection to the plant...
by foragers. Food bodies are identified by the main nutrient they contain and by the genus of plant producing them. Beltianbodies are found on the leaflet...
The spines are home to ants that protect the plant from herbivory. Beltianbodies can be found at the tips of the leaves. They are full of fats and sugars...
nectar rich in sugar and amino acids, and the tips of the leaves sprout Beltianbodies, small nutritious packets of oils and proteins. However, not all is...
plant, and are food sources in the same sense as Beltianbodies, Müllerian bodies, Beccarian bodies, coccid secretions and nectaries. They occur in at...
produces more Beltianbodies to encourage the presence of ants. When the tree has enough extra nutrients, it will create less Beltianbodies. This behaviour...
the petiole and rachis, and the pinnule tips may carry protein-lipid Beltianbodies. The leaflets are usually opposite, and are carried on shortly stalks...
is also classified by physical attachment. When symbionts form a single body it is called conjunctive symbiosis, while all other arrangements are called...
kiplingi, which is largely herbivorous, feeding mainly on the sugar rich Beltianbodies produced by acacia plants. Many spiders, but not all, build webs. Other...
curved. This allows the plant to place pollen on a certain part of the bird's body, permitting a variety of morphological co-adaptations. Ornithophilous flowers...
ants. In return, the ants obtain food from protein- and lipid-rich Beltianbodies. In Fiji Philidris nagasau (Dolichoderinae) are known to selectively...
pods produced by the plant for the ants and now known as Belsian bodies (or Beltianbodies) in honor of Belt. In subsequent papers Belt dealt boldly with...
feeding on nectaries along with the protein and lipid-rich beltianbodies. These bodies are named for Thomas Belt, a naturalist who first described the...
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