Costa Heather S, Greenberg Les, Klotz John, Rust Michael K
Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314, USA.
J Econ Entomol. 2005 Dec;98(6):2089-94. doi: 10.1093/jee/98.6.2089.
This study investigated the effects of the permethrin-impregnated plastic on ant mortality and foraging rates, and tested its potential for preventing ants from colonizing potted soil. Direct exposure to the plastic for as short as 1 min caused significant mortality of both red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, and Argentine ants, Linepithema humile (Mayr); however, red imported fire ants were more susceptible than Argentine ants. Knockdown of virtually all ants initially occurred within 15 min after exposure. However, some moribund ants recovered from the effects within 24 h. For example, after 1 min of direct exposure to the permethrin-impregnated plastic, 70% of Argentine ants and 5% of red imported fire ants recovered from the treatment. In established colonies of Argentine ants, significantly fewer ants foraged for food up posts treated with the plastic compared with untreated posts. In addition, colonies responded to introduction of the treatment by significantly reducing their overall foraging rates, even on untreated posts. When pots filled with moistened soil were introduced into established ant colonies, 82% of Argentine ants and 99% of red imported fire ants moved into the soil. In contrast, when a 1-cm-wide coil of the plastic was placed under the pot, no ants moved into the soil. The potential for use of these materials in nursery production is discussed.
本研究调查了氯菊酯浸渍塑料对蚂蚁死亡率和觅食率的影响，并测试了其防止蚂蚁在盆栽土壤中定殖的潜力。直接接触该塑料仅1分钟就导致红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta Buren）和阿根廷蚁（Linepithema humile (Mayr)）大量死亡；然而，红火蚁比阿根廷蚁更易受影响。几乎所有蚂蚁在接触后15分钟内开始出现击倒现象。然而，一些濒死的蚂蚁在24小时内从影响中恢复过来。例如，直接接触氯菊酯浸渍塑料1分钟后，70%的阿根廷蚁和5%的红火蚁从处理中恢复。在已建立的阿根廷蚁蚁群中，与未处理的柱子相比，在经塑料处理的柱子上觅食的蚂蚁明显减少。此外，蚁群对处理的引入做出反应，显著降低了它们的总体觅食率，即使在未处理的柱子上也是如此。当将装满湿润土壤的花盆引入已建立的蚁群时，82%的阿根廷蚁和99%的红火蚁移入土壤。相比之下，当在花盆下方放置一圈1厘米宽的这种塑料时，没有蚂蚁移入土壤。文中讨论了这些材料在苗圃生产中的应用潜力。
