Not an answer to your question, but there are other examples of this sort of thing. Lycaenid butterflies secrete nectar as caterpillars in exchange for protecti

Not an answer to your question, but there are other examples of this sort of thing. Lycaenid butterflies secrete nectar as caterpillars in exchange for protection by ants [1]. Indeed, ants have symbiotic relationships with a bunch of organisms, including fungus [2], aphids [3], and over 100 species of plants [4]. [1] https://australianmuseum.net.au/lycaenid-butterflies-and-ants https://australianmuseum.net.au/lycaenid-butterflies-and-ant... [2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%E2%80%93fungus_mutualism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%E2%80%93fungus_mutualism [3] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid#Ant_mutualism https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid#Ant_mutualism [4] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophyte https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecophyte