Yesterday, I noticed a bunch of insects on the backside of some sunflower leaves. Having never seen them before, I wondered if they are beneficial or invasive pests. I also saw that ants were climbing all over them and in a moment of misplaced empathy, felt sorry for them. Are the ants eating them alive?
That was, however, until I used Google Image search to find that these were Entylia carinata, or Keeled Treehoppers. Keeled Treehoppers and ants live in symbiosis. The ants "tend" both the nymphs and adults, providing housekeeping and also protection from predators in return for feeding on the sticky honeydew substance the treehoppers excrete. They help each other. Such a little thing, insects living together peacefully, helping each other. Neither are terrible pests to my flowers. If only the rest of the world could live in symbiosis.
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