Hughes W O H, Goulson D
Biodiversity and Ecology Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton, SO16 7PX, UK.
Bull Entomol Res. 2002 Jun;92(3):213-8. doi: 10.1079/BER2002165.
The enhancement of bait for the control of grass-cutting ants was investigated using two species of grass-cutting ant, Atta bisphaerica (Forel) and Atta capiguara (Gonçalves) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bait was applied in loose piles to obtain a direct relationship between ant attraction and bait harvest. Enhancement with alarm pheromone compounds significantly increased the attractiveness and harvest of bait under certain conditions. A large proportion of the ants attracted to the enhanced bait were minor workers. These ants rarely transport bait because of their small size, and so it may be possible to increase the effect of bait enhancement by using smaller bait granules. Foragers of A. capiguara were less inclined to transport citrus-pulp bait than were those of Atta laevigata (Fr. Smith), a species that also harvests dicotyledonous plants. This emphasizes the importance of developing a bait matrix that is more acceptable to grass-cutting species. Nevertheless, the results suggest that alarm pheromone compounds have significant potential to improve the efficacy of baits for the control of grass-cutting ants.
利用两种切叶蚁，即双球切叶蚁（Atta bisphaerica (Forel)）和卡皮瓜拉切叶蚁（Atta capiguara (Gonçalves)）（膜翅目：蚁科），对用于控制切叶蚁的诱饵强化进行了研究。诱饵以松散堆的形式施用，以获得蚂蚁吸引力与诱饵收获量之间的直接关系。在某些条件下，用报警信息素化合物进行强化显著提高了诱饵的吸引力和收获量。被强化诱饵吸引的蚂蚁中很大一部分是小工蚁。由于体型小，这些蚂蚁很少搬运诱饵，因此使用更小的诱饵颗粒可能会增强诱饵强化的效果。与同样采集双子叶植物的光腹切叶蚁（Atta laevigata (Fr. Smith)）相比，卡皮瓜拉切叶蚁的觅食者不太倾向于搬运柑橘果肉诱饵。这突出了开发一种更受切叶蚁物种接受的诱饵基质的重要性。尽管如此，结果表明报警信息素化合物在提高控制切叶蚁诱饵的功效方面具有巨大潜力。
