O'Brien Kathryn S, Hooper-Bùi Linda M
Department of Entomology, 404 Life Science Building, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
J Econ Entomol. 2005 Dec;98(6):2153-9. doi: 10.1093/jee/98.6.2153.
To help manage red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, invasion, several types of pest management systems have been developed, including baits. To accurately test liquid bait effectiveness in the laboratory, we determined that starvation time of 96 h is required for laboratory fire ants to simulate foraging ants in the field. We measured density and viscosity of two commercial baits and 20% sugar water at 25 degrees C and then compared amount of material consumed per ant at these physical properties. Mean densities of 20% sugar water, Dr. Moss, and Terro were 1.051, 1.287, and 1.354 g/ml, respectively, and viscosity of each bait treatment varied in the same order but more drastically (1.7, 32, and 400 centipoises, respectively). Field and laboratory studies demonstrated that bait acceptability may be affected by toxicant and physical properties. Baits that are more dense have more mass per volume and may cause the ant to cease feeding with a lower crop load than when they feed on sugar water. Ants that feed on formulated baits exhibit feeding behaviors different from those that occur when feeding on sugar water. At first glance, one might conclude that the difference is because of the toxicant, but our findings suggest that physical properties of baits may be a factor in this change in feeding behavior.
为了帮助管理红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta Buren）的入侵，已开发出几种害虫管理系统，包括诱饵。为了在实验室中准确测试液体诱饵的有效性，我们确定实验室中的火蚁需要96小时的饥饿时间来模拟野外觅食的蚂蚁。我们在25摄氏度下测量了两种商业诱饵和20%糖水的密度和粘度，然后比较了在这些物理性质下每只蚂蚁消耗的物质数量。20%糖水、莫斯博士诱饵和特罗诱饵的平均密度分别为1.051、1.287和1.354克/毫升，每种诱饵处理的粘度也按相同顺序变化，但变化幅度更大（分别为1.7、32和400厘泊）。野外和实验室研究表明，诱饵的可接受性可能受毒物和物理性质的影响。密度较大的诱饵每单位体积的质量更大，可能会使蚂蚁在嗉囊负载量低于以糖水为食时就停止进食。以配方诱饵为食的蚂蚁表现出与以糖水为食时不同的进食行为。乍一看，人们可能会得出结论，差异是由于毒物造成的，但我们的研究结果表明，诱饵的物理性质可能是这种进食行为变化的一个因素。
