A Study of the Weaver Ant, Oecophylla smaragdina (Fab.) 1 &lt;/latex&amp;#62

Cole, Arthur C.; Jones, John W.

doi:10.2307/2421529

Cited by 35 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Only two species are currently known and these are Oecophylla longinoda Latreille, 1802 and O. smaragdina Fabricius, 1775 (Bolton et al, 2007). In terms of habitat ranges, the former occurs across equitorial Africa and the latter in Sri Lanka and much of India through Indo-China and southern China to the Indomalayan region, northern Australia and Melanesia (Cole and Jones, 1948).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers perception of a biological control agent, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and its effects on the quality of citrus fruits in Ghana

Abunyewah¹,

Afreh-Nuamah²,

Nboyine³

et al. 2015

Afr. J. Agric. Res.

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The red weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille is a predator of many insect pests of tree crops and its presence in orchards is perceived to result in improved fruit quality. This study therefore sought to investigate farmers' perception of O. longinoda as a biological control agent for insect pests of citrus and its effect on fruit quality. A questionnaire-based survey was first used to investigate farmers' perception of O. longinoda in major citrus growing districts in Ghana. Field and laboratory experiments were also conducted to test the effect of the presence of the weaver ant at different densities on taste [total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity (TA) and juice volume (JV)]. The survey results showed that 56% of farmers regarded weaver ants as pests, while 40% considered them as beneficial insects. Seventy percent observed no difference in taste while 28% observed improvement in taste. With respect to fruit appearance, 42% of the respondents said O. longinoda had no effect on appearance while 50% reckoned that it negatively affected the appearance of citrus. Laboratory analyses of citrus fruits showed that O. longinoda had no significant effect on fruit qualities. The implications of these findings on the acceptance of O. longinoda by farmers and suggestions for overcoming the challenges of accepting this biological control agent are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers perception of a biological control agent, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and its effects on the quality of citrus fruits in Ghana

Abunyewah¹,

Afreh-Nuamah²,

Nboyine³

et al. 2015

Afr. J. Agric. Res.

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“…Oecophylla smaragdina is widespread from southern Asia to northern Australia, including many tropical western Pacific islands (Cole andJones 1948, Lokkers 1986). Therefore, this species seems to be a valuable material for biogeographical study of Tropical Asia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Phylogeny among Local Populations of Weaver Ant Oecophylla smaragdina

et al. 2002

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-The molecular phylogeny of 24 Oecophylla smaragdina populations and two O. longinoda populations was studied using 647 bp of the mitochondrial cyt b gene. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that O. smaragdina and O. longinoda were separated from each other first, and after that the first within-species divergence of O. smaragdina occurred in early stage of their history, in which the Asian, Australian, and Sulawesian groups rose. This grouping was almost coincident with the distribution of landmass in glacial periods in Pleistocene. Thereafter, each group seemed to have independently diverged into present populations on each landmass.

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“…distributed widely in south-east Asian countries, south Pacific islands and northern Australia; and O. longinoda (Latreille) distributed in tropical Africa (Cole and Johns, 1948). These species are so similar in their life-histories and ecology that they can be treated as one (Way, 1954, Van der Plank, 1960, Greenslade, 1971a, Holldobler and Wilson, 1983, Peng et al, 1998a,b, Way and Khoo, 1992.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%