Use of Vertebrate Tissue by the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta texana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini)

1991 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Killion
Keyword(s):  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Vertebrate Tissue

Identification of the Trail Pheromone of a Leaf-cutting Ant, Atta texana

Nature ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 234 (5328) ◽  
pp. 348-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. TUMLINSON ◽  
R. M. SILVERSTEIN ◽  
J. C. MOSER ◽  
R. G. BROWNLEE ◽  
J. M. RUTH
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting

A volatile trail pheromone of the leaf-cutting ant, Atta texana

1972 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.H. Tumlinson ◽  
J.C. Moser ◽  
R.M. Silverstein ◽  
R.G. Brownlee ◽  
J.M. Ruth
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting

scholarly journals Cryptic Diversity in Colombian Edible Leaf-Cutting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Insects ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Pepijn Kooij ◽  
Bryn Dentinger ◽  
David Donoso ◽  
Jonathan Shik ◽  
Ester Gaya
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Extraction Methods ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Atta Sexdens ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Atta Colombica

Leaf-cutting ants are often considered agricultural pests, but they can also benefit local people and serve important roles in ecosystems. Throughout their distribution, winged reproductive queens of leaf-cutting ants in the genus Atta Fabricius, 1804 are consumed as a protein-rich food source and sometimes used for medical purposes. Little is known, however, about the species identity of collected ants and the accuracy of identification when ants are sold, ambiguities that may impact the conservation status of Atta species as well as the nutritional value that they provide to consumers. Here, 21 samples of fried ants bought in San Gil, Colombia, were identified to species level using Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) barcoding sequences. DNA was extracted from these fried samples using standard Chelex extraction methods, followed by phylogenetic analyses with an additional 52 new sequences from wild ant colonies collected in Panama and 251 publicly available sequences. Most analysed samples corresponded to Atta laevigata (Smith, 1858), even though one sample was identified as Atta colombica Guérin-Méneville, 1844 and another one formed a distinct branch on its own, more closely related to Atta texana (Buckley, 1860) and Atta mexicana (Smith, 1858). Analyses further confirm paraphyly within Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758) and A. laevigata clades. Further research is needed to assess the nutritional value of the different species.

Antennal Olfactory Responsiveness of the Texas Leaf Cutting Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) to Trail Pheromone and its Two Alarm Substances

1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 593-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Andryszak ◽  
T. L. Payne ◽  
J. C. Dickens ◽  
J. C. Moser ◽  
R. W. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
The Other ◽  
Behavioral Threshold ◽  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting ◽  
Alarm Substances ◽  
Serial Dilutions

Electroantennograms (EAGs) were recorded from major workers, queens, and males of the Texas leaf cutting, Atta texana (Buckley) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in response to serial dilutions of two alarm substances, 2-heptanone and 4-methyl-3-heptanone, and its trail pheromone, 4-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate. The lower EAG threshold for major workers relative to queens and males for both alarm substances correlated well with previously reported behavioral bioassays which showed workers to be most responsive to these odorants. Although laboratory behavioral bioassays showed minor workers, queens, and males to have a similar behavioral threshold for the trail pheromone, minor workers were more responsive to higher concentrations of the trail pheromone. However, EAGs revealed queens significantly more sensitive and responsive to the trail pheromone than the other castes. These seemingly enigmatic results are discussed with regard to A. texana biology and receptor physiology.

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.

Leaf-cutting ants and avoided plants: Defences against Atta texana attack

Oecologia ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Waller
Keyword(s):  
Atta Texana ◽  
Leaf Cutting
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