Sumitomo Chemical Australia, Epping, NSW 2113, Australia.
J Econ Entomol. 2013 Aug;106(4):1545-52. doi: 10.1603/ec13094.
The efficacy of Distance Plus Ant Bait, containing the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen, was tested in the field against two invasive ant species in northern Australia: African big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala (F.)) and yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes (Fr. Smith)). Results were also gained for a third pest species, Singapore ant (Monomorium destructor (Jerdon)), from one trial focused primarily on P. megacephala. Five studies were conducted throughout northern Australia, each with different protocols, but common to all was the broad-scale dispersal of Distance Plus, coupled with long-term monitoring of ant population levels. Additionally, a laboratory trial was conducted to assess if there was a direct toxic effect by the bait on A. gracilipes workers, and ant community data were collected at some sites in the A. gracilipes trial to assess nontarget impacts and subsequent ecological recovery. All three species were greatly affected by the treatments. The abundance of P. megacephala declined dramatically in all trials, and by the final assessment for each study, very few ants remained, with those remaining being attributable to edge effects from neighboring untreated properties. At both sites that it occurred, M. destructor was initially at least codominant with P. megacephala, but by the final assessment, only three M. destructor individuals were present at one lure at one site, and only a single individual at the other site. Abundance of A. gracilipes fell, on average, to 31% of control levels by 91 d and then slowly recovered, with subsequent treatments only providing slightly greater control. No direct toxic effect on workers was found in the laboratory trial, indicating that population declines of A. gracilipes were typical bait-related declines resulting from reduced worker replacement. Nontarget impacts of the bait could not be distinguished from the negative competitive impacts ofA. gracilipes, but there was a noticeable absence of some key common ant species posttreatment, which was more likely the result of baiting rather than competitive exclusion. The species composition of treated and untreated sites was statistically indistinguishable in multivariate analysis within 2 yr posttreatment, indicating ecological recovery. Our findings indicate that Distance Plus has great potential for invasive ant management.
距离 Plus 毒饵，含有昆虫生长调节剂吡丙醚，在澳大利亚北部针对两种入侵蚂蚁物种进行了田间测试：非洲大头蚁（Pheidole megacephala (F.））和黄疯蚁（Anoplolepis gracilipes (Fr. Smith））。从一个主要针对 P. megacephala 的试验中还获得了第三种害虫物种，新加坡蚂蚁（Monomorium destructor (Jerdon））的结果。在整个澳大利亚北部进行了五项研究，每项研究都有不同的方案，但共同点是广泛传播距离 Plus，同时长期监测蚂蚁种群水平。此外，进行了一项实验室试验，以评估诱饵对 A. gracilipes 工蚁是否有直接的毒性作用，并在 A. gracilipes 试验的一些地点收集了蚂蚁群落数据，以评估非目标影响和随后的生态恢复。所有三种物种都受到了处理的极大影响。在所有试验中，P. megacephala 的数量都急剧下降，到每个研究的最终评估时，几乎没有蚂蚁存活下来，剩下的蚂蚁归因于来自相邻未处理物业的边缘效应。在发生的两个地点，M. destructor 最初至少与 P. megacephala 共同占优势，但到最终评估时，一个地点的一个诱饵处只有三个 M. destructor 个体，另一个地点只有一个个体。A. gracilipes 的丰度平均下降到对照水平的 31%，然后缓慢恢复，随后的处理仅提供了稍大的控制。在实验室试验中未发现对工蚁的直接毒性作用，表明 A. gracilipes 的种群下降是典型的与减少工蚁更替有关的诱饵相关下降。无法从 A. gracilipes 的负竞争影响中区分诱饵的非目标影响，但处理后一些关键的常见蚂蚁物种明显缺失，这更可能是诱饵而不是竞争排斥的结果。在处理后 2 年内的多变量分析中，处理和未处理地点的物种组成在统计上没有区别，表明生态恢复。我们的研究结果表明，距离 Plus 对入侵蚂蚁管理具有巨大潜力。
