scholarly journals Preferences and differences in the trail pheromone of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens sexdens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2006 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. MORGAN ◽  
Sarah J. KEEGANS ◽  
Jozef TITS ◽  
Tom WENSELEERS ◽  
Johan BILLEN
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Leaf Cutting

Field evaluation of methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate, an ant trail pheromone, as a component of baits for leaf-cutting ant (Hymenoptera Formicidae) control

1982 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Robinson ◽  
A. R. Jutsum ◽  
J. M. Cherrett ◽  
R. J. Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Foraging Area ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ant Trail

AbstractIn the laboratory, the trail pheromone methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate (M4MP2C) when added to bait particles acts as an attractant to leaf-cutting ants, increasing the pick-up of pheromone-impregnated bait compared with plain bait. However, field trials in Trinidad, Brazil and Paraguay were disappointing. Bait with and without pheromone was scattered in the foraging area, and the proportion of each taken to the nest by Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel, A. cephalotes (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich) was assessed. In only one of the experiments (A. octospinosus foraging bait with 50 p.p.m. of M4MP2C) was increased pick-up detected. Four reasons for this are suggested: (1) small pheromone effects are difficult to measure as scattering bait produced a patchy distribution and heterogeneous replicates, whilst choice trials on plain and pheromone-impregnated bait placed close together were difficult to interpret, as the pheromone probably excited the ants, increasing pick-up of plain bait; (2) A. octospinosus workers, the subject of detailed studies, were less sensitive to M4MP2C in the field than in the laboratory; (3) as the pheromone only attracts, it does not produce a comparable increase in the number of pieces picked up, contact/pick-up ratios of sucroseimpregnated discs increasing from 2·26 at 5 pg pheromone to 16·39 at 50 ng; and (4) soyabean oil, citrus-pulp extract and orange juice were found to be attractive, and when pheromone was added, its effects were not additive. Early studies used sucrose-impregnated paper discs, and as these have no attractants of their own, the addition of M4MP2C had a more marked effect. It is concluded that M4MP2C is not a cost-effective addition to current leaf-cutting ant baits which possess food odours, a much cheaper source of attractiveness.

The possible use of methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate, an ant trail pheromone, as a component of an improved bait for leaf-cutting ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) control

1978 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. W. Robinson ◽  
J. M. Cherrett
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Nest Entrance ◽  
Acromyrmex Octospinosus ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Citrus Pulp ◽  
Single File ◽  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Ant Trail

AbstractA trail pheromone, methyl 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate (M4MP2C), of Atta texana (Buckley) was tested in the laboratory as a possible component of attractive poison bait for the leaf-cutting ants A. cephalotes (L.), A. sexdens (L.) and Acromyrmex octospinosus (Reich). For all three species, M4MP2C when impregnated onto paper discs increased pick-up of the discs. It also increased pick-up by Atta sexdens of a citrus-pulp bait. The addition of M4MP2C made them easier to find, although at high concentrations it was repellent. It did not affect the average number of ant investigations before the bait was picked up. The pheromone remained on citrus-pulp bait in active concentrations for approximately four days. To test -the effect of M4MP2C as a foraging stimulant for A. cephalotes, an apparatus was constructed in which the ants passed in single file over a transparent section of the trail where they were counted with a photoelectric cell. When bait impregnated with M4MP2C was placed on the foraging table, large increases in activity were recorded away from the nest but only small increases were recorded in the nest and at the nest entrance. When air containing M4MP2C vapour was injected into the fungus chamber, an increase in activity was recorded at the nest entrance, but this increase was not repeated when known amounts of the pheromone impregnated onto baits of filter-paper discs were added directly to the fungus chamber. It is suggested that factors other than M4MP2C are also involved in the stimulation of foraging activity. The experiments suggest that M4MP2C could play some part in the formulation of an attractive bait for the control of leaf-cutting ants.

The major component of the trail pheromone of the leaf-cutting ant,Atta sexdens rubropilosa forel

1979 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Cross ◽  
Russell C. Byler ◽  
Uzi Ravid ◽  
Robert M. Silverstein ◽  
Stephen W. Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Atta Sexdens Rubropilosa ◽  
Leaf Cutting

Antibiotic-producing bacteria associated with the nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa

Planta Medica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
EA Silva-Junior ◽  
CR Paludo ◽  
FS Nascimento ◽  
CR Currie ◽  
J Clardy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Atta Sexdens Rubropilosa ◽  
Leaf Cutting

scholarly journals Sympodiomyces attinorum sp. nov., a yeast species associated with nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens

2004 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1891-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange C. Carreiro ◽  
Fernando C. Pagnocca ◽  
Maurício Bacci ◽  
Marc-André Lachance ◽  
Odair C. Bueno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Yeast Species ◽  
Novel Species ◽  
Large Subunit ◽  
Growth Characteristics ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Large Subunit Rrna ◽  
Waste Deposit

Four strains of a novel yeast species were isolated from laboratory nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens in Brazil. Three strains were found in older sponges and one was in a waste deposit in the ant nests. Sequencing of the D1/D2 region of the large-subunit rRNA gene showed that the novel species, named Sympodiomyces attinorum sp. nov., is phylogenetically related to Sympodiomyces parvus. Unlike Sympodiomyces parvus, Sympodiomyces attinorum can ferment glucose, assimilate methyl α-d-glucoside, salicin and citrate, and grow at 37 °C, thus enabling these two species to be distinguished. Differentiation from other related species is possible on the basis of other growth characteristics. The type strain of Sympodiomyces attinorum is UNESP-S156T (=CBS 9734T=NRRL Y-27639T).

scholarly journals Distribution of Atta (Hymenoptera - Formicidae) in "terra-firme" rain forest of Central Amazonia: density, species composition and preliminary results on effects of forest fragmentation

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heraldo Luís de Vasconcelos
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Terra Firme ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Leaf Cutting

One hundred and fourteen hectares of a "terra-fiirme" rain forest 70 km north of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, were surveyed for leaf-cutting ant colonies (Atta spp). One half of this area was in isolated forest fragments (surrounded by pastures or second growth) of two sizes: 1 and 10 ha. The other half was in non-isolated fragments (connected to a large parch of forest) of the same sizes. Only two species occured in this forest: Atta sexdens sexdens L. and A. cepfhalotes L. The first was the most abundant species with a mean density of 0.35 colonies per ha. The mean density of A. cephalotes colonies was 0.03 per ha. The density of colonies was not significantly different between the isolated fragments and the continuous forest. Furthermore, the species composition did not change with isolation. However, pre-isolation data and long term monitoring are necessary to conclude that the isolation of a forest fragment has no effect upon Atta colonies. The non-uniform spatial distribution of Atta colonics within the "terra-firme" forest must be taken into account when selecting conservation areas in the Amazon, in order to preserve this important group of ants together with their native habitat.

scholarly journals BIOLOGICAL CONTROL IN LEAF-CUTTING ANTS, Atta sexdens (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE), USING PATHOGENIC FUNGI

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarcísio Marcos Macedo Mota Filho ◽  
Luis Eduardo Pontes Stefanelli ◽  
Roberto da Silva Camargo ◽  
Carlos Alberto Oliveira de Matos ◽  
Luiz Carlos Forti
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Chemical Control ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fungus Garden ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Main Method ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Leaf Cutting

ABSTRACT Chemical control using toxic baits containing the active ingredient sulfluramid at 0.3% (w/w) is the main method for controlling leaf-cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. However, since 2009, when sulfluramid was included in Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, there has been an intense search for new methods that are efficient in controlling these insects. Among said new methods, biological control using pathogenic fungi has shown promising results in laboratory conditions. The objective of this study, given the context presented, was to assess the potential of the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Trichoderma harzianum in controlling Atta sexdens. Colonies of A. sexdens were exposed to the fungi by means of formulated baits provided in a foraging chamber, or of suspensions sprayed on the fungus garden, and had their behavioral changes recorded for 21 days. For both formulations, concentrations of 10 and 20% (w/w) of the fungi being studied were used. The results allowed concluding that baits containing 10 and 20% (w/w) of the fungi B. bassiana and T. harzianum were not efficient in controlling colonies of A sexdens. On the other hand, spraying suspensions of 20% (w/w) of B. bassiana and 10% and 20% (w/w) of T. harzianum was efficient and resulted in 100% mortality of the colonies 11, 9 and 7 days after application, respectively. These findings indicate that the fungi B. bassiana and T. harzianum are promising as agents for the control of A. sexdens colonies, when sprayed on the fungus garden, although there are still some challenges as to their use related to the development of technologies for the application of the pathogen.

scholarly journals Seasonal Parasitism of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta sexdens Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) by Phorid Flies (Diptera: Phoridae) in a Brazilian Cerrado-Atlantic Forest Ecotone

2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Cliver Fernandes Farder-Gomes ◽  
Marco Antônio de Oliveira ◽  
Ana Carolina Ribeiro de Oliveira ◽  
Pollyana Leão Gonçalves ◽  
Evaldo Martins Pires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Brazilian Cerrado ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Phorid Flies ◽  
Forest Ecotone

Azadirachtin impairs egg production in Atta sexdens leaf-cutting ant queens

2018 ◽  
Vol 243 ◽  
pp. 809-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Dias Amaral ◽  
Luis Carlos Martínez ◽  
Maria Augusta Pereira Lima ◽  
José Eduardo Serrão ◽  
Terezinha Maria Castro Della Lucia
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Leaf Cutting
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