Spinosad‐infused biodegradable hydrogel beads as a potential organic approach for argentine ant, <i>Linepithema humile</i> (Mayr) (hymenoptera: Formicidae), management in California citrus orchards

Milosavljević, Ivan; Irvin, Nicola A.; Lewis, Michael; Hoddle, Mark S.

doi:10.1111/jen.13203

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Spinosad-laced sucrose solutions were readily accepted by the ants, likely because they either could not detect the presence of the toxicant or did not recognise it as toxic on a first contact. However, even at the extremely small dose of spinosad used, which is around 600 times less than that typically used in field conditions (Milosavljević et al ., 2024, Pedraza et. al., In prep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Invasive ants fed spinosad collectively recruit to known food faster yet individually abandon food earlier

Galante,

Forster,

Werneke

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current management strategies applied to invasive ants rely on slow-acting insecticides which aim to delay the ant’s ability to detect the poison until its effects are noticeable. Despite this, most control efforts are unsuccessful, likely due to bait abandonment and insufficient sustained consumption. Conditioned taste aversion, a learned avoidance of a particular taste, is a crucial survival mechanism which prevents animals from repeatedly ingesting toxic substances. However, whether ants are capable of this delayed association between food taste and subsequent illness remains largely unexplored. Here, we exposed colonies of the highly invasive Argentine ant,Linepithema humile, to a sublethal dose of the slow-acting insecticide spinosad. We combined measurements of individual-level feeding patterns with quantification of collective preferences and foraging dynamics to investigate the potential effects of the toxicant on behaviour. Collectively, ants preferred an odour associated with a previously experienced food, even if this contained spinosad, over a novel one. However, at the individual-level, previous exposure to spinosad resulted in reduced food consumption, as a consequence of earlier food abandonment. Moreover, while control-treated colonies recruited slower to a food source which tasted like a previously experienced one, spinosad-exposed colonies recruited equally fast to both novel and familiar foods. Although it appears that ants are unable to develop a conditioned taste aversion to sublethal doses of spinosad, ingestion of even small amounts of the toxicant strongly influences foraging behaviour. Understanding the subtle effects of slow-acting pesticides on ant cognition and behaviour can ultimately inspire the development of more efficient control methodologies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Invasive ants fed spinosad collectively recruit to known food faster yet individually abandon food earlier

Galante,

Forster,

Werneke

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Fipronil‐infused sodium polyacrylate gels provide effective management of Argentine ants in conservation areas

Buczkowski,

Wossler

2024

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUNDVarious types of hydrogel compounds have recently been developed for controlling invasive and pest ants in a range of environmental settings including agricultural, urban and natural areas. The current study evaluated the potential of sodium polyacrylate (ACR) hydrogels to effectively deliver liquid baits to Argentine ants.RESULTSRelative to standard polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels, individual ACR hydrogel particles were approximately five‐fold heavier; this may affect how ants interact with the bait particles, and further influence bait uptake and efficacy. Additionally, ACR hydrogels had significantly higher water absorption capacity and significantly slower rate of water loss, especially during the first 2 h. The efficacy of ACR hydrogel bait containing 0.005% fipronil and various attractants was evaluated on laboratory colonies. Results demonstrated that ACR hydrogel acceptance is significantly increased by the addition of feeding attractants. In addition, a field trial was performed in a nature reserve invaded by Argentine ants to evaluate the efficacy of ACR hydrogel bait. The field trial demonstrated that ACR hydrogel bait containing 0.005% fipronil with various attractants is highly effective and that ant densities throughout the baited plots declined by >99% within 7 days.CONCLUSIONSThe results of this study demonstrate that: (i) fipronil is highly effective for Argentine ant control in natural areas when used in low concentrations (0.005%); (ii) ACR hydrogels are an effective tool for delivering liquid baits to Argentine ants; and (iii) hydrogel baits augmented with various attractants including salt, protein and pheromone are highly attractive to Argentine ants. © 2024 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

show abstract

Determination of the relationship between the numbers of Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on irrigation pipes and tree trunks to facilitate automated monitoring in Southern California citrus orchards

Cong,

Milosavljević,

et al. 2024

Journal of Economic Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is a pest in southern California citrus orchards because it protects honeydew-producing hemipteran pests from natural enemies. A major impediment to controlling L. humile is estimating ant densities in orchards. Ants use irrigation lines to travel across orchard floors to reach trees infested with hemipterans. However, for making ant control decisions, it is the number of ants in trees, not on pipes that is critical. Work completed here demonstrates that the number of ants counted on pipes is highly correlated with the number of ants counted on trunks. Densities of ants counted on trunks are correlated with trunk diameter, citrus variety, and time of year and time of day counts. Six regression models, linear regression, zero-inflated Poisson regression, and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models, and each of their mixed model extensions, indicated a strong positive relationship between ant counts on irrigation pipes and ant counts on tree trunks. Mean squared prediction error and 5-fold cross-validation analyses indicated that the best performing of these 6 models was the zero-inflated Poisson mixed regression model. A binary classification model developed using support vector machine learning for ant infestation severity levels, categorized as low (<100 ants counted in 1 min) or high (≥100 ants counted in minutes), predicted ant densities on trunks with 85% accuracy. These models can be used to estimate the number of ants on the trunks of citrus trees by using counts of ants made on irrigation pipes.

show abstract

Spinosad‐infused biodegradable hydrogel beads as a potential organic approach for argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (hymenoptera: Formicidae), management in California citrus orchards

Cited by 3 publications

References 65 publications

Invasive ants fed spinosad collectively recruit to known food faster yet individually abandon food earlier

Invasive ants fed spinosad collectively recruit to known food faster yet individually abandon food earlier

Fipronil‐infused sodium polyacrylate gels provide effective management of Argentine ants in conservation areas

Determination of the relationship between the numbers of Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on irrigation pipes and tree trunks to facilitate automated monitoring in Southern California citrus orchards

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About