scholarly journals Electrophysiological Responses of Eighteen Species of Insects to Fire Ant Alarm Pheromone

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzhe Du ◽  
Michael J. Grodowitz ◽  
Jian Chen

Olfaction plays a dominant role in insect communication. Alarm pheromones, which alert other insects of the same species of impending danger, are a major class of releaser pheromones. The major components of alarm pheromones in red imported fire ants, honeybees and aphids have been identified as 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (2E-3,6-DP), isopentyl acetate (IPA), and E-β-farnesene (EβF), respectively. In this study, electroantennography (EAG) responses to EDP (a mixture of 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine), IPA and EβF were investigated in a wide range of insect species. Beside imported fire ants, the EDP (2-ethyl-3,6(5)-dimethylpyrazine) elicited significant EAG response from all other tested insects, including six ant species and one hybrid ant, honeybee, bagrada bug, lady beetle, housefly, small hive beetle, yellow fever mosquito, termite, bedbug, water hyacinth weevil, southern green stink bug and two aphid species. In contrast, IPA elicited significant EAG response only in the honeybee, red imported fire ant, an Aphaenogaster ant, and the water hyacinth weevil. The EβF only elicited EAG responses in two aphids, small hive beetle and housefly. The results clearly indicate that EDP can be detected by widespread insect species that did not coevolve with S. invicta and further suggested alkylpyrazine may activate multiple generally tuned olfactory receptors (ORs) across a wide number of insect species.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-624
Author(s):  
WILLUAM E. HARDWICK ◽  
JAMES A. ROYALL ◽  
BRUCE A. PETITT ◽  
SAMUEL J. TILDEN

Imported fire ants, Solenopsis richteri and Solenopsis invicta, are menacing health hazards for the 20 to 30 million people who live in the fire ant-infested regions of the southeastern and south central United States. In the early 1900s, fire ants were brought into the port city of Mobile, Alabama, on vegetation and produce from South America. Their aggressive behavior compared to native ants and the favorable climate throughout the southeast allowed extensive spread. In 1985 it was estimated that fire ants infested approximately 250 million acres in eleven southern states and Puerto Rico.1 In infested areas fire ants account for 90% of all ant populations and stings from fire ants are more frequent than stings from other hymenoptera, becoming the most common cause of insect venom hypersensitivity.


1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Zakharov ◽  
L. C. Thompson

Sites receiving repeated broadcast applications of fenoxycarb and hydramethylnon baits for red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, control were examined for impact of bait treatments on ant diversity in southeastern Arkansas. Ants collected from sugar baits belonged to three subfamilies and 25 species. As compared with checks, native ant species increased on fenoxycarb-treated plots and decreased on hydramethylnon-treated plots. Except for S. invicta, ants within the subfamily Myrmicinae practically disappeared from hydramethylnon-treated plots. Sensitivity of ants in the subfamilies Formicinae and Dolichoderinae to hydramethylnon and fenoxycarb was comparatively low. As a consequence, fenoxycarb shows promise for the integrated management of imported fire ants when broadcast applications are desirable.


2011 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 225-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Min Lin ◽  
Wei-Lien Chi ◽  
Chung-Chi Lin ◽  
Yu-Ching Tseng ◽  
Wang-Ting Chen ◽  
...  

EDIS ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Willcox ◽  
William M. Giuliano

Two species of fire ant are found in Florida, the notorious red imported fire ant (RIFA; Solenopsis invicta; Figure 1) and the less common native fire ant (Solenopsis geminata). This document is WEC 207 and one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, UF/IFAS Extension. First published: April 2006.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Chen ◽  
Sanford D. Porter

Pseudacteon flies (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitize individual ant workers, causing decapitation of the host during pupariation. Phorid flies that attack South American fire ants in the Solenopsis saevissima (Smith) complex are distributed across a wide range of habitats and climates associated with the geographical range of their hosts. Sympatric species sharing the same hosts often partition niche resources by season, active time of day, host size, and/or different host activities. They have the potential of being used for biological control of the imported fire ants in North America, Australia, and Asia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 1753-1760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Fei Zhao ◽  
Qiuhong Tao ◽  
Jiayi Li ◽  
Yijuan Xu ◽  
...  

Abstract The use of insecticide remains the frontline method in controlling red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), one of the worst invasive ants in the world. Neonicotinoids are effective ingredients in toxic baits for suppressing S. invicta population. To search for new and effective insecticides, the toxicity and sublethal effects of triflumezopyrim, a novel neonicotinoid analog, were evaluated against S. invicta. No high mortality of ants was observed after they fed on sugar water containing 120 μg/ml triflumezopyrim for 72 h; however, 100% mortality was achieved after ants fed on sugar water containing 10 μg/ml triflumezopyrim for 2 wk. Furthermore, at 10 μg/ml, triflumezopyrim did not inhibit ant food consumption within the 7-d treatment period. These results indicate that triflumezopyrim is a slow acting toxin and may be qualified as bait toxin for managing red imported fire ants. At 1 μg/ml, triflumezopyrim did not cause any significant effect on colony growth within 56 d and did not inhibit the food consumption during the whole trial period. At 10 μg/ml, triflumezopyrim displayed a significant reduction of aggressiveness during confrontation with native ants, resulting in higher mortality than the ants in the control. However, at 1 μg/ml, triflumezopyrim did not show any significant impact on both aggressiveness and mortality of the red imported fire ants.


2004 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T. Vogt ◽  
Jack T. Reed ◽  
Richard L. Brown

A study was conducted in northeastern Mississippi to examine temporal foraging activity of imported fire ants (Solenopsis spp.) and other common ant species that inhabit pasture and meadow. Baited vials were placed horizontally on the ground along straight-line transects (n = 21) every 3 h for 24 h periods during June–August. Vials remained on the ground for 30 min, then were quickly plugged with cotton and collected. Principal species captured in baited vials included Solenopsis spp. (black and hybrid imported fire ant) (90.6%), Solenopsis molesta (Say) (5.9%), Monomorium minumum (Buckley) (2.5%), Tapinoma sessile (Say) (0.7%), and Paratrechina vividula (Nylander) (0.3%). Imported fire ants foraged during all time periods, as did S. molesta and P. vividula. Tapinoma sessile and M. minimum slowed or ceased foraging at night. Forelius pruinosus (Roger) was captured on a single date while sampling at 1800 h. Implications for timing of bait applications against imported fire ants are discussed.


Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Deborah M. Epperson ◽  
Craig R. Allen ◽  
Katharine F. E. Hogan

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows support diverse commensal invertebrate communities that may be of special conservation interest. We investigated the impact of red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) on the invertebrate burrow community at 10 study sites in southern Mississippi, sampling burrows (1998–2000) before and after bait treatments to reduce fire ant populations. We sampled invertebrates using an ant bait attractant for ants and burrow vacuums for the broader invertebrate community and calculated fire ant abundance, invertebrate abundance, species richness, and species diversity. Fire ant abundance in gopher tortoise burrows was reduced by >98% in treated sites. There was a positive treatment effect on invertebrate abundance, diversity, and species richness from burrow vacuum sampling which was not observed in ant sampling from burrow baits. Management of fire ants around burrows may benefit both threatened gopher tortoises by reducing potential fire ant predation on hatchlings, as well as the diverse burrow invertebrate community. Fire-ant management may also benefit other species utilizing tortoise burrows, such as the endangered Dusky Gopher Frog and Schaus swallowtail butterfly. This has implications for more effective biodiversity conservation via targeted control of the invasive fire ant at gopher tortoise burrows.


1993 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Rakich ◽  
K. S. Latimer ◽  
M. E. Mispagel ◽  
W. L. Steffens

Four adult dogs received experimentally controlled stings in the dorsolateral abdominal skin by imported fire ants ( Solenopsis invicta). The sites were examined grossly 15 minutes and at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours and histologically 15 minutes and 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after stinging. The initial gross lesions at 15 minutes were swelling and erythema, and the microscopic changes were vascular congestion and superficial dermal edema. By 6 hours, the lesions consisted of bright erythematous pruritic papules characterized microscopically by a band of full thickness dermal necrosis and inflammation. By 24 hours and continuing to the end of the study at 72 hours, the sites appeared completely normal grossly. Biopsies taken 24, 48, and 72 hours after stings contained microscopic changes similar to those present at 6 hours after stings. These histologic changes are unlike those described for human beings stung by imported fire ants. In human beings, fire ant stings are characterized histologically by an initial superficial vesicle that evolves into a sterile pustule.


1989 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stan K. Diffie ◽  
D. Craig Sheppard

The discovery of hybrid fire ants, Solenopsis invicta × S. richteri, in northwest Georgia at a more northern latitude than S. invicta led to an investigation into the hybrid's ability to withstand cold temperatures. This study was undertaken to determine if the hybrid would supercool at a lower temperature than either parental species. Major workers, male alates, and female alates of the three ant types were collected, and supercooling points were determined. Of the three castes tested, only male alates of the hybrid and S. richteri had lower supercooling points than did S. invicta. The inhabitance of north Georgia by the hybrid fire ant and not S. invicta does not seem to be determined by supercooling.


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