Zelus annulosus is an assassin bug found in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It frequently associates with Hirtella physophora

Hirtella physophora

Hirtella physophora is a species of plant in the Chrysobalanaceae family. It forms an association with the ant species, Allomerus decemarticulatus. The ants live in honeycombed cylinders they attach to the plant's stems. The plant nearly always has these ants associated with it....

(Chrysobalanaceae), a plant that houses colonies of plant-ants Allomerus decemarticulatus

Allomerus decemarticulatus

The Amazonian ant species Allomerus decemarticulatus is a social insect found in the tropics of South America. They were documented by Alain Dejean et al. in French Guiana, a small French territory on the coast of northeast South America just north of Brazil...

and provides the ants with nectar.

Some species of Zelus

Zelus

In Greek mythology, Zelus was the son of Pallas and Styx. Zelus and siblings Nike , Kratos and Bia were winged enforcers who stood in attendance at Zeus' throne and formed part of his retinue....

gather sticky substances from certain plants to coat their legs; Z. annulosus does not engage in this behavior, instead secreting the substance.

Z. annulosus apparently is able to avoid being attacked by the ants by walking primarily on the plant's trichomes, which shield the assassin bug from the ants, but still allow Z. annulosus to be protected by having the ants in the vicinity.