Protection of Plants by Insects

Many plants – one or more species of at least 68 different families – can secrete nectar
even when they have no blossoms, because they bear extra floral nectaries (structures
that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants
usually occur where ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate
areas. Among those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses,
hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar consists mainly of
water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, in some plants, small amounts of
amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries of some plants are known to attract ants and
other insects, but the evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is
unknown. Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries attract
insects that will defend the plant.

Ants are probably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of
plants. Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants
exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant
energy. To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding
insects that might compete with ants for nectar. Many of these intruders are
herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants.

Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some purely internal
physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit whatsoever to the plants that
secrete it. This view and the opposing “protectionist” hypothesis that ants defend
plants had been disputed for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William
Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the
protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and that
in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perish or fail to produce
flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. That we now have an abundance of
the proof that was called for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the
relevant evidence in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments
have provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.

One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect morning glories
against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies of the North American morning
glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding
on flowers indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the
corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which the pollen
germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract pollinators and are
not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches
long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed beetles affect seed production directly.
Caterpillars devour the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae
eat seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.

Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds of insects, but 96
percent of them are ants, several different species of them. When buds are still small,
less than a quarter of an inch long, the sepal nectaries are already present and
producing nectar. They continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit
matures. Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers and
fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, and seed beetles.
Bentley compares the seed production of six plants that grew where there were no
ants with that of seventeen plants that were occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore
only 45 seeds per plant, but plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant.
Although ants are not big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive
them away by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they
are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, disturb
females as they lay their eggs on developing fruits, and eat many of the eggs they do
manage to lay.

Paragraph 1:
Many plants – one or more species of at least 68 different families – can secrete nectar
even when they have no blossoms, because they bear extra floral nectaries (structures
that produce nectar) on stems, leaves, leaf stems, or other structures. These plants
usually occur where ants are abundant, most in the tropics but some in temperate
areas. Among those of northeastern North America are various plums, cherries, roses,
hawthorns, poplars, and oaks. Like floral nectar, extrafloral nectar consists mainly of
water with a high content of dissolved sugars and, in some plants, small amounts of
amino acids. The extrafloral nectaries of some plants are known to attract ants and
other insects, but the evolutionary history of most plants with these nectaries is
unknown. Nevertheless, most ecologists believe that all extrafloral nectaries attract
insects that will defend the plant.

1. According to paragraph 1, floral nectar and extrafloral nectar are alike in that
A) they are likely to be produced by the same plants
B) they basically consist of the same chemical components
C) they attract only insects that will defend the plant
D) they are produced by the same parts of the plant
Paragraph 2:
Ants are probably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of
plants. Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants
exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant
energy. To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing intruding
insects that might compete with ants for nectar. Many of these intruders are
herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants.

3. What can be inferred from paragraph 2 about the ants that are attracted to the
extrafloral nectaries?
A) They do not eat the leaves of the plants that produce extrafloral nectar.
B) They live almost entirely on extrafloral nectar.
C) They spend most of their energy guarding extrafloral nectaries.
D) They frequently fight among themselves over extrafloral nectar.

Paragraph 3:
Biologists once thought that secretion of extrafloral nectar has some purely internal
physiological function, and that ants provide no benefit whatsoever to the plants that
secrete it. This view and the opposing “protectionist” hypothesis that ants defend
plants had been disputed for over a hundred years when, in 1910, a skeptical William
Morton Wheeler commented on the controversy. He called for proof of the
protectionist view: that visitations of the ants confer protection on the plants and that
in the absence of the insects a much greater number would perish or fail to produce
flowers or seeds than when the insects are present. That we now have an abundance of
the proof that was called for was established when Barbara Bentley reviewed the
relevant evidence in 1977, and since then many more observations and experiments
have provided still further proof that ants benefit plants.

4. According to paragraph 3, what was the position of the opponents of the

“protectionist” hypothesis?
A) Extrafloral nectar provides plants with a direct defense against attack by
insects.
B) Ants substantially benefit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar.
C) The secretion of extrafloral nectar plays a role in the plant’s internal
functioning.
D) Ants visit plants that secrete extrafloral nectar as often as they visit plants
that do not.

6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the
highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in
important ways or leave out essential information.
A) We now have ample proof that ants benefit plants.
B) Barbara Bentley has called for additional proof that ants benefit plants.
 C) In 1977 Barbara Bentley conducted research that proved that all prior
studies were wrong.
D) Proof that ants benefit plants will require many more observations and
experiments.

Paragraph 4:
One example shows how ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries protect morning glories
against attacking insects. The principal insect enemies of the North American morning
glory feed mainly on its flowers or fruits rather than its leaves. Grasshoppers feeding
on flowers indirectly block pollination and the production of seeds by destroying the
corolla or the stigma, which receives the pollen grains and on which the pollen
germinates. Without their colorful corolla, flowers do not attract pollinators and are
not fertilized. An adult grasshopper can consume a large corolla, about 2.5 inches
long, in an hour. Caterpillars and seed beetles affect seed production directly.
Caterpillars devour the ovaries, where the seeds are produced, and seed beetle larvae
eat seeds as they burrow in developing fruits.

7. According to paragraph 4, what effect does the destruction of the corolla have on
plants?
A) It leaves the seeds exposed and unprotected.
B) It prevents the stigma from developing.
C) It keeps pollen grains from attaching properly.
D) It prevents the flower from attracting pollinators.

8. The word “devour” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A) attack
B) eat
C) damage
D) prefer

Paragraph 5:
Extrafloral nectaries at the base of each sepal attract several kinds of insects, but 96
percent of them are ants, several different species of them. When buds are still small,
less than a quarter of an inch long, the sepal nectaries are already present and
producing nectar. They continue to do so as the flower develops and while the fruit
matures. Observations leave little doubt that ants protect morning glory flowers and
fruits from the combined enemy force of grasshoppers, caterpillars, and seed beetles.
Bentley compares the seed production of six plants that grew where there were no
ants with that of seventeen plants that were occupied by ants. Unprotected plants bore
only 45 seeds per plant, but plants occupied by ants bore 211 seeds per plant.
Although ants are not big enough to kill or seriously injure grasshoppers, they drive
them away by nipping at their feet. Seed beetles are more vulnerable because they
are much smaller than grasshoppers. The ants prey on the adult beetles, disturb
females as they lay their eggs on developing fruits, and eat many of the eggs they do
manage to lay.

11. According to paragraph 5, what did Bentley’s comparative study show?

A) Many more plants grew in places where ants were present than where they
were absent.
B) The ants preferred plants with low seed production to plants with high seed
production.
C) The plants occupied by ants produced many more seeds than those that
were not occupied by ants.
D) The plants that grew in places without ants were much smaller and weaker
than those that grew in places where ants were present.

12. According to paragraph 5, ants defend morning glory plants from seed beetles in
each of the following ways EXCEPT
A) driving adult beetles off the plants by nipping at their feet
B) catching and eating adult beetles
C) eating beetle eggs they find on developing fruits
D) making it difficult for beetles to lay eggs on developing fruits

13. Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be
added to the passage.
Sometimes they capture the insects to feed their protein-hungry larvae.
Where does the sentence best fit?

Ants are probably the most frequent and certainly the most persistent defenders of
plants. [A]■ Since the highly active worker ants require a great deal of energy, plants
exploit this need by providing extrafloral nectar that supplies ants with abundant
energy. [B]■To return this favor, ants guard the nectaries, driving away or killing
intruding insects that might compete with ants for nectar. [C]■Many of these intruders
are herbivorous and would eat the leaves of the plants. [D]■

14. Prose Summary

Many plants have extrafloral nectaries that produce nectar even during
periods in which the plant is not flowering.
Answer Choices
A) Evolutionary history shows that plants that produce extrafloral nectar
originated in the tropics.
B) Extrafloral nectar has a higher concentration of sugar than floral nectar and
is more attractive to ants and other insects.
C) The protectionist hypothesis is that extrafloral nextar attracts ants, and that
the ants, in order to preserve this energy-rich food source, attack insects that might
harm the plant.
 D) Evidence accumulated during the twentieth century proved that ants
provide significant benefits for plants with extrafloral nectaries.
E) Research has shown that American morning glory plants that are protected
by ants produce significantly more seeds than morning glory plants that are not
protected by ants.
F) Ants generally ignore small insects, but they will eat the adults of large insect
species as well as their eggs and larvae.