Identification of a novel plant-derived attractant for Acromyrmex lobicornis leaf-cutting ants (original) (raw)
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Plant-based compounds with potential as push-pull stimuli to manage behavior of leaf-cutting ants
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2017
Leaf-cutting ants are a serious pest of young forestry plantations. Currently, the main control method is the use of broad-spectrum insecticides, which have a negative effect on non-target organisms and the environment. In this work, plant-based compounds were evaluated in laboratory assays with Acromyrmex ambiguus Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for their potential use as repellent and attractant stimuli to be used in a push-pull strategy. Farnesol, a sesquiterpene present in many essential oils, was tested as a repellent at doses of 10, 50, and 100 mg. Its distance of action was studied by comparing the repellent effect of farnesol in a situation in which ants had to touch the farnesol in order to reach the food source in comparison to when ants could reach the food source without getting into direct contact with it. Different parts of the orange fruit (pulp and peel) were evaluated and compared as attractants, given that citrus-based baits are among the most popular attractants used. Results from laboratory bioassays indicated that farnesol is repellent at doses of 50 mg and acts upon contact or at a very short distance. Furthermore, orange pulp was more attractive than the peel, and volatile compounds were highly responsible for the attraction. When both stimuli were tested simultaneously in a laboratory experiment, repellency of farnesol was enhanced in the presence of orange pulp odor. When tested in a field push-pull experiment, the results also showed a good repellent effect of farnesol as well as an attractant effect of the orange pulp. These results encourage long-term studies with these substances in a field setting and suggest that repellents can be enhanced by the use of attractants to manage leaf-cutting ants behavior.
Journal of Economic Entomology, 2002
Leaf-cutting ants are important economic pests of the Neotropics, and the most common method of control involves the use of insecticidal baits. Baits that are currently available exhibit low attractiveness to grass-cutting species, thus there is a need to develop improved baits. The potential for using alarm pheromone compounds to enhance the attractiveness and subsequent harvest of baits was examined for two economically important species of grass-cutting ant, Atta bisphaerica (Forel) and Atta capiguara (Goncalves). Compounds of the alarm pheromone were applied to rubber septa that were then sealed inside plastic sachets together with citrus pulp-based bait. The best candidate compound for bait enhancement was 4-methyl-3-heptanone. This compound signiÞcantly increased the attractiveness of bait sachets to both species. It also appeared to improve the discovery of nearby unenhanced sachets. However, 4-methyl-3-heptanone resulted in only a slight and non-signiÞcant improvement in bait harvest. Enhanced and unenhanced bait sachets were applied at a number of positions to obtain an improvement in harvest, but without success. The possible reasons for the lack of an enhancement of harvest and the potential for using alarm pheromone compounds as leaf-cutting ant bait enhancers are discussed.
The response of grass-cutting ants to natural and synthetic versions of their alarm pheromone
Physiological Entomology, 2001
The responses of the grass-cutting ants Atta bisphaerica (Forel) and Atta capiguara (Gonc Ëalves) to the main components of their alarm pheromones were examined in simple ®eld bioassays. Both species react most strongly to 4-methyl-3-heptanone, which causes the full range of alarm behaviour and a large increase in the number of individuals near the sources. In later experiments with A. capiguara, this increase was found to be due primarily to attraction, with some arrestment also occurring. The ant response to 4-methyl-3-heptanone was compared with that to crushed heads and to that with whole ants with crushed heads. The pheromone 4-methyl-3-heptanone by itself stimulates the same level of attraction as crushed heads, but results in far less alarm behaviour and arrests fewer ants. Whole ants with crushed heads attract a greater number of ants than the other sources and also cause more alarm behaviour. Bodies alone attract ants, but do not result in alarm behaviour. The main component in both species is the same, supporting the view that alarm pheromones lack species speci®city. However, it appears that other components may also be important either as synergists of the main compound, or by stimulating behaviours that would not be observed in its absence.
Journal of Insect Science, 2014
Control of ants using baits of low toxicity cannot be effective without knowledge of bait distribution patterns and bait station densities, which are determined by ants' foraging activities. Furthermore, the success of toxic baits also depends upon attractiveness of bait carriers. Here, we assessed ground and vine foraging activity and food preferences for the three ant species (Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Anoplolepis custodiens (F. Smith) and Crematogaster peringueyi Emery) under field conditions. We found that L. humile's vineyard foraging activity was high and that movement of ant bait by C. peringueyi and A. custodiens in the vineyard was relatively low. Consequently, more bait stations need to be dispensed for more effective control of C. peringueyi and A. custodiens than for L. humile. Different bait densities are discussed for the various ant species. Food preference trials indicated that vineyard foraging ants preferred wet bait attractants over dry ones, making liquids the most ideal carriers for baiting these ants. Linepithema humile was attracted to 25% sugar water, while C. peringueyi was attracted to both 25% sugar water and honey. Anoplolepis custodiens was attracted to tuna but was also attracted to 25% sugar water. Thus, future bait formulations should be tailor made to suit these specific food requirements if baits are to be successful in ant pest management.
2014
Nutritional requirements vary between ant species and the composition of ant baits designed to eliminate colonies of invasive and nuisance ant species needs to take this into account. Simple corn and oil-based ant baits have been effective for only a limited range of species. Distance® Ant Bait (5 g/kg pyriproxyfen) has been very effective in the Australian eradication program for red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) but is less attractive to a wide range of other important pest species. Modifications of this standard formulation were tested on many different species and one particular formulation, Distance® Plus Ant Bait (also 5 g/kg pyriproxyfen), proved to be attractive to a wide range of species. Data from many choice and no-choice tests directly comparing the two formulations are included here. The incremental advantage in attractiveness of Distance® Plus over Distance® was evident for many species particularly those species that have a higher preference for carbohydrate and protein than lipids. These included yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) and pale tyrant ant (Iridomyrmex pallidus). There was also a general improvement in bait attractiveness for some other species, including those for which Distance® was considered suitable for control.
2014
Nutritional requirements vary between ant species and the composition of ant baits designed to eliminate colonies of invasive and nuisance ant species needs to take this into account. Simple corn and oil-based ant baits have been effective for only a limited range of species. Distance Ant Bait (5 g/kg pyriproxyfen) has been very effective in the Australian eradication program for red imported fire ant ('Solenopsis invicta') but is less attractive to a wide range of other important pest species. Modifications of this standard formulation were tested on many different species and one particular formulation, Distance Plus Ant Bait (also 5 g/kg pyriproxyfen), proved to be attractive to a wide range of species. Data from many choice and no-choice tests directly comparing the two formulations are included here. The incremental advantage in attractiveness of Distance Plus over Distance was evident for many species particularly those species that have a higher preference for carbohy...
Journal of Insect Behavior, 2019
The little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is native to the neotropics, but has become one of the world's most widespread and destructive invasive ants. In Hawaii, LFA was first discovered in 1999 on the Big Island and since then has rapidly spread to neighboring islands, causing ecological and economic damage. LFA can develop fully functional nests on the ground and arboreally, and their foraging and retrieval of food resources is facilitated by a well-developed recruitment system. LFA were found to form recruitment trails on epiphytic moss growing on macadamia nut trees. As a first step to identify LFA recruitment pheromone components, we tested the LFA worker trail-following response to naturally marked epiphytic moss trails. Significantly more LFA workers placed on a natural trail followed the trail and made 90°turns to continue following the trail compared to when they were placed on a fake trail that had no trail marking substance(s). In laboratory choice assays using hexane extracts of moss with and without LFA trail, LFA workers preferred to follow a trail drawn with a hexane extract of moss that had a recruitment trail over a trail drawn with a hexane extract of moss only. Our results confirm that LFA workers readily follow a trail marking substance(s) laid down on epiphytic moss.
Predatory and trophobiont-tending ants respond differently to fig and fig wasp volatiles
Animal Behaviour, 2009
ant-plant interaction associative learning eavesdropping mutualism Myrmicaria brunnea Oecophylla smaragdina plant volatile Technomyrmex albipes The interaction between figs and their pollinating or parasitic fig wasps is mediated largely by chemical communication. These fig wasps are often preyed upon by predatory ants. In this study, we found that predatory ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) patrolling Ficus racemosa trees were attracted to the odour from fig syconia at different developmental phases, as well as to the odours of fig wasps, whereas other predatory ants (Technomyrmex albipes) responded only to odours of syconia from which fig wasps were dispersing and to fig wasp odour. However, trophobiont-tending ants (Myrmicaria brunnea) patrolling the same trees and exposed to the same volatiles were unresponsive to fig or fig wasp odours. The predatory ants demonstrated a concentration-dependent response towards volatiles from figs receptive to pollinators and those from which wasps were dispersing while the trophobiont-tending ants were unresponsive to such odours at all concentrations. Naïve predatory ants failed to respond to the volatiles to which the experienced predatory ants responded, indicating that the response to fig-related odours is learned. We suggest that predatory ants could use fig-associated volatiles to enhance their probability of wasp encounter and can eavesdrop on signals meant for pollinators. Ó
Trail Pheromone Disruption of Argentine Ant Trail Formation and Foraging
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2010
Trail pheromone disruption of invasive ants is a novel tactic that builds on the development of pheromonebased pest management in other insects. Argentine ant trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal, was formulated as a microencapsulated sprayable particle and applied against Argentine ant populations in 400 m 2 field plots in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. A widely dispersed point source strategy for trail pheromone disruption was used. Traffic rates of ants in bioassays of treated filter paper, protected from rainfall and sunlight, indicated the presence of behaviorally significant quantities of pheromone being released from the formulation for up to 59 days. The proportion of plots, under trade wind conditions (2-3 m s −1 ), with visible trails was reduced for up to 14 days following treatment, and the number of foraging ants at randomly placed tuna-bait cards was similarly reduced. The success of these trail pheromone disruption trials in a natural ecosystem highlights the potential of this method for control of invasive ant species in this and other environments.
Bulletin of Insectology
To better understand the potential of controlling of leaf-cutting ants, a serious pest, with conventional synthetic insecticides as well as botanical pesticides, we propose to evaluate the effect of d-limonene on attractiveness and rejection of citric pulp to the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel. Five treatments were adopted that consisted of fragments of filter paper impreg-nated with various concentrations of d-limonene and with organic extract of citrus pulp. The number of fragments loaded by the ants in the foraging arena and transported to the fungus garden and of fragments rejected in the refuse chamber was counted. It has been shown that d-limonene provoked concentration-dependent reduction of attractiveness response to A. sexdens rubropilosa workers. No rejection of loaded fragment was observed. We discussed the relationship between substrate selection and its repel-lent compounds, and also that a repellent substrate component can be overcome or masked by the ...