Extrafloral nectaries of associated trees can enhance natural pest control

Rezende, Maíra Queiroz; Venzon, Madelaine; Perez, André Lage; Cardoso, Irene Maria; Janssen, Arne

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2014.02.024

Cited by 81 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Here, we demonstrate that this increment in the number of predatory mites in the absence of the prey can be a strategy to protect plants from pest infestations, similar to what was found by Ramakers (1990) for thrips. Instead of supplying alternative food on the plants, intercropping with other plant species that provide alternative food can also be used to enable early establishment of predators (Landis et al 2000;Norris and Kogan 2005;Amaral et al 2013;González-Fernández et al 2009;Jonsson et al 2009;Rezende et al 2014). This remains to be investigated for pepper cropping systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of these alternative foods can increase biological control of plant pests by natural enemies (Ramakers 1990;van Rijn et al 2002;Messelink et al 2008;Rezende et al 2014). The presence of alternative foods can increase densities of natural enemies and subsequently cause a reduction of the pest populations, a phenomenon similar to apparent competition (Holt 1977;Nomikou et al 2010), which is an interaction between populations of different prey species mediated by a shared predator (Holt 1977;van Veen et al 2006;Messelink et al 2008;Nomikou et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative food promotes broad mite control on chilli pepper plants

et al. 2015

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Many omnivorous arthropods are important natural enemies because they can feed on plantprovided pollen and several prey species, and thus persist in crops even in the absence of the target pest. Hence, populations of these predators can be established in a crop by providing alternative food, thus increasing biological control. We investigated how alternative food affects broad mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus) control on chilli pepper plants by predatory mites. The predatory mite Amblyseius herbicolus had high oviposition and population growth rates when fed with cattail pollen, chilli pepper pollen and bee-collected pollen, and a low rate on the alternative prey Tetranychus urticae. Supplementing pepper plants with pollen resulted in better control of broad mite populations. Release of A. herbicolus on young plants with weekly addition of honeybee pollen until plants produce flowers seems a viable strategy to sustain populations of this predator, thus protecting young, vulnerable plants from broad mite infestations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative food promotes broad mite control on chilli pepper plants

et al. 2015

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“…In our system, increases in agrochemical use may have reduced ant diversity, while at the same time limiting the number of host species available to parasitoids, potentially resulting in higher parasitism for species present. Third, some parasitoids benefit from extrafloral nectaries on shade trees within coffee agroecosystems (Rezende et al 2014), and presence of extrafloral nectaries may covary with agrochemical use. Parasitism and Season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Mora¹,

Pérez‐Lachaud²,

Lachaud³

et al. 2015

Environ Entomol

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Parasitism of ants that nest in rotting wood by eucharitid wasps was studied in order to examine whether habitat and season influence ant parasitism, vegetation complexity and agrochemical use correlate with ant parasitism, and whether specific local and landscape features of agricultural landscapes correlate with changes in ant parasitism. In a coffee landscape, 30 coffee and 10 forest sites were selected in which local management (e.g., vegetation, agrochemical use) and landscape features (e.g., distance to forest, percent of rustic coffee nearby) were characterized. Rotten logs were sampled and ant cocoons were collected from logs and cocoons were monitored for parasitoid emergence. Sixteen ant morphospecies in three ant subfamilies (Ectatomminae, Ponerinae, and Formicinae) were found. Seven ant species parasitized by two genera of Eucharitidae parasitoids (Kapala and Obeza) were reported and some ant-eucharitid associations were new. According to evaluated metrics, parasitism did not differ with habitat (forest, high-shade coffee, low-shade coffee), but did increase in the dry season for Gnamptogenys ants. Parasitism increased with vegetation complexity for Gnamptogenys and Pachycondyla and was high in sites with both high and low agrochemical use. Two landscape variables and two local factors positively correlated with parasitism for some ant genera and species. Thus, differences in vegetation complexity at the local and landscape scale and agrochemical use in coffee landscapes alter ecological interactions between parasitoids and their ant hosts.

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“…EFNs have been reported from over 90 families of flowering plants and ferns (Koptur 1992), mostly from tropical and subtropical regions and plants producing extrafloral nectar are known to suffer less from herbivory (Rezende et al 2014). There is considerable variation in EFN morphology and visitor spectra of ants among other insects (Oliveira and Brandão 1991;Brewitt et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How plants and honeydew-producing hemipterans affect ant species richness and structure in a tropical forest zone

et al. 2015

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Extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and hemipteran honeydew are often discussed as two alternative mechanisms encouraging ant visitation in mutualistic ant-plant relationships, but little is known about the processes that generate distribution pattern in species-rich insect communities. A case study on the interaction between ants, EFNbearing plants and hemipterans was investigated along a gradient of increasing disturbance from regenerated forest to mixed crop field. Ants, EFN-bearing plants and hemipterans sampling was conducted in these vegetations during the wet and the dry seasons in five locations. Results showed that partitioning of ant species between season and vegetation was significantly different from random. High specialization index was observed in hemipterans/plants and ant/hemipterans interactions. Low specialization index was observed between ants and EFN-bearing plants mainly in the mixed crop field. Ant species were mostly found in non-aggressive co-occurrence at nectar sources. At the species level, specialization index was high for Anoplolepis tenella (0.86 ± 0.06) and also for its associated hemipterans Stictococcus vayssierei (0.97 ± 0.02). This association is detrimental to food crop especially cassava. These results outline the effect of vegetation and food source on the structure of the ant assemblage and interaction in tropical forest zone.

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Extrafloral nectaries of associated trees can enhance natural pest control

Cited by 81 publications

References 47 publications

Alternative food promotes broad mite control on chilli pepper plants

Alternative food promotes broad mite control on chilli pepper plants

Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

How plants and honeydew-producing hemipterans affect ant species richness and structure in a tropical forest zone

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