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Food Preference and Foraging Activity of Ants Food Preference and Foraging Activity of Ants: Recommendations for Field Applications of Low-Toxicity Baits Author(s): Casper Nyamukondiwa and Pia Addison Source: Journal of Insect Science, 14(48):1-13. Published By: Entomological Society of America DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1673/031.014.48 URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1673/031.014.48 BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses. Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance of BioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use. Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiries or rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder. BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, research libraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research. Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 14 | Article 48 Nyamukondiwa and Addison Food preference and foraging activity of ants: Recommendations for field applications of low-toxicity baits Casper Nyamukondiwa1,2a* and Pia Addison1b 1Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa 2Present address: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Botswana International Uni- versity of Science and Technology (BIUST). Private Bag BO 041 Bontleng, Gaborone, Botswana Abstract Control of ants using baits of low toxicity cannot be effective without knowledge of bait distribu- tion patterns and bait station densities, which are determined by ants’ foraging activities. Furthermore, the success of toxic baits also depends upon attractiveness of bait carriers. Here, we assessed ground and vine foraging activity and food preferences for the three ant species (Linepi- thema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Anoplolepis custodiens (F. Smith) and Crematogaster peringueyi Emery) under field conditions. We found that L. humile’s vineyard foraging activity was high and that movement of ant bait by C. peringueyi and A. custodiens in the vineyard was relatively low. Consequently, more bait stations need to be dispensed for more effective control of C. peringueyi and A. custodiens than for L. humile. Different bait densities are discussed for the various ant species. Food preference trials indicated that vineyard foraging ants preferred wet bait attractants over dry ones, making liquids the most ideal carriers for baiting the- se ants. Linepithema humile was attracted to 25% sugar water, while C. peringueyi was attracted to both 25% sugar water and honey. Anoplolepis custodiens was attracted to tuna but was also attracted to 25% sugar water. Thus, future bait formulations should be tailor made to suit these specific food requirements if baits are to be successful in ant pest management. Keywords: bait formulation, bait station densities, integrated pest management, Planococcus ficus Correspondence: a [email protected], b [email protected], *Corresponding author Editor: Todd Shelly was editor of this paper. Received: 24 April 2012 Accepted: 25 February 2014 Published: 10 April 2014 Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, pro- vided that the paper is properly attributed. ISSN: 1536-2442 | Vol. 14, Number 48 Cite this paper as: Nyamukondiwa C, Addison P. 2014. Food preference and foraging activity of ants: Recommendations for field applications of low- toxicity baits. Journal of Insect Science 14:48. Available online: http://www.insectscience.org/14.48 Journal of Insect Science | http://www.insectscience.org 1 Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 14 | Article 48 Nyamukondiwa and Addison Introduction mum bait station density. Optimal density of bait stations per unit area may vary depending In vineyards, the mutualism between ants and on the ant species and the level of ant infesta- the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signo- tion. If ants have long foraging distances, then ret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), results in bait density could be lower than if ants have population explosions of both insects, thereby short foraging trails. Daane et al. (2006) dis- causing pest injury and economic losses pensed liquid baits at 85–620 baits/ha against (Kriegler and Whitehead 1962; Way 1963; L. humile in Californian vineyards. At high Myburgh et al. 1973). The Argentine ant, densities, these baits resulted in fewer L. hu- Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: mile, fewer mealybugs, and less damage to Formicidae), the cocktail ant, Crematogaster grape clusters. Ant foraging ranges and behav- peringueyi Emery, and the common pugna- ior are affected by a number of factors, such cious ant, Anoplolepis custodiens (F. Smith), as temperature, circadian rhythm, competition, are the major pest ants associated with the food availability, food particle size, and pho- vine mealybug in South African vineyards toperiod (Oster and Wilson 1978; Hölldobler (Addison and Samways 2000). Linepithema and Wilson 1990). Markin (1968), for exam- humile is a cosmopolitan, invasive pest in ag- ple, found that L. humile workers foraged up ricultural and urban areas (Suarez et al. 2001) to 45 m away from the nest. Similarly, Ripa et that nests predominantly in the soil, while C. al. (1999) found up to 21% of marked L. hu- peringueyi and A. custodiens are of southern mile 54 m from the feeding station. Vega and African origin, the former nesting in the cano- Rust (2001, 2003) found marked ants up to 61 py and the latter in the soil (Addison and m from feeding stations. However, ant forag- Samways 2000). Current recommendations ing activity in urban settings may differ from for control include the use of chemical stem a vineyard because of varying abundance of barriers, which target only ground nesting food resources. Level of infestation by honey- species by preventing access into the canopy dew-producing mealybugs would presumably (Addison 2002). This control method is de- also impact foraging activity. Although L. signed to break the mutualism between the humile can forage for long distances, these ants and mealybugs so that natural enemies, ants generally nest in close proximity to food primarily encyrtid wasps, can effectively con- sources and relocate nests when nearby food trol P. ficus without ant interference sources become exhausted (Suarez et al. 2001; (Samways 1990). Tsutsui et al. 2003; Heller and Gordon 2006). In South African citrus orchards, A. cus- There is no documented control method for todiens has been observed to forage 111 m vine-nesting species in South Africa, but low- away from their nest during peak honeydew toxicity baits could be a viable option, as the production periods and up to 50 m in April, recruitment to food sources and subsequent when the mealybugs are abundant (Steyn food-sharing behavior of ants can be used to 1954). No research has been carried out to as- distribute toxicant through the colony no certain C. peringueyi foraging activity. matter where the colony is located (Hooper- Bui and Rust 2000; Rust et al. 2004). Effec- Different ant species have different dietary tive control of South African ants using baits requirements, and consequently this must be of low toxicity is limited by inadequate considered during ant bait formulation. Effec- knowledge on ant foraging activity and opti- tive proportions of fat, carbohydrates, and Journal of Insect Science | http://www.insectscience.org 2 Journal of Insect Science: Vol. 14 | Article 48 Nyamukondiwa and Addison proteins in the bait may differ between species bosch Winelands region. Ideally this should and with the colonies’ nutritional needs (Rust also have been conducted in spring, but selec- et al. 2000). Physical state of the bait, liquid tion of a suitable marker for the ants delayed versus solid, and particle size also affect the this experiment. Linepithema humile trials rate of collection of the bait (Hooper-bui and were carried out at Joostenberg farm (33.80S, Rust 2000). Most of the research on ant food 18.81E), C. peringueyi at La Motte farm preference has been done on L. humile (Baker (33.88S, 19.08E), and A. custodiens trials et al. 1985). To date, no food preference stud- were carried out at Plaisir de Merle farm ies have been done in South African vineyards (33.87S, 18.94E). Drip irrigation was used in to determine ideal food requirements for L. all vineyards. The Plaisir de Merle site was a humile, A. custodiens, or C. peringueyi. trellised white Chenin blanc vineyard, the La Motte vineyard comprised trellised white When dissolved in 25% sugar water, prelimi- Chenin blanc grapes, and the Joostenberg nary investigations showed that low toxicity farm had trellised red Pinotage wine grapes. baits were non-repellent to foragers (Nyamu- In all vineyards, standard sprays of alpha- kondiwa and Addison 2011), palatable, and cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos were routinely exhibited sufficient delayed toxicity to allow used to control ants during the growing trophallaxis (Stringer et al. 1964). The present season. research was aimed at determining (i) the for- aging activity (that is the distance each ant Experiment 1: Determination of ant forag- travels from its nest to the source of food) of ing activity vineyard ants (L. humile, C. peringueyi, and Trial layout and sampling methods. Five A. custodiens) using liquid baits labeled with a bait stations were placed 10 m apart (Daane et marker and (ii) whether specific bait matrices al. 2006) on one side of the perimeter of a (different food attractants) had different at- vineyard block approximately 100 m x 100 m, tractiveness to the three ant species under field and ants were allowed to feed on 25% sugar conditions.
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