Invasion by the Argentine ant Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) causes the collapse of global ecosystems. Attempts to exterminate this invasive ant have mostly been unsuccessful after colonization. However, some attempts are successful when they are applied in the initial stage of invasion, or the invaded area is limited. This indicates that early identification of invasion is crucial for successful extermination. The current methods of identification require special training and skills, suggesting that a new easy and fast method of identification is urgently required. Here, we report a method of identification using a species-specific trail pheromone. The Argentine ant uses ( Z )-9-hexadecenal as a trail pheromone. ( Z )-9-Hexadecenal is commercially available, because it is used to control the reproduction of a moth ( Chilo suppressalis ). We applied ( Z )-9-hexadecenal 10 cm away from the trails of Argentine ants and 12 native Japanese ant species. The Argentine ant trails were largely disturbed, while the effect on the native Japanese ants was almost undetectable. These results suggest that this “trail disruption identification method” is an easy and fast method of identifying Argentine ants in Japan and that the effects of this method on native Japanese ants, if any exist, are small.

中文翻译：

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使用人工合成的尾迹信息素鉴定阿根廷蚂蚁 Linepithema humile（膜翅目：蚁科）及其对日本本土蚂蚁的影响

阿根廷蚂蚁 Linepithema humile (Mayr)（膜翅目：蚁科）的入侵导致全球生态系统崩溃。在定植后，试图消灭这种入侵性蚂蚁的努力大多没有成功。但也有一些尝试在入侵初期应用或入侵区域有限时取得成功。这表明入侵的早期识别对于成功消灭至关重要。当前的识别方法需要特殊的培训和技能，这表明迫切需要一种新的简单快速的识别方法。在这里，我们报告了一种使用特定物种的踪迹信息素进行识别的方法。阿根廷蚂蚁使用 ( Z )-9-十六烯醛作为尾迹信息素。( Z )-9-十六烯醛可商购，因为它被用来控制飞蛾的繁殖（Chilo suppressalis）。我们在距离阿根廷蚂蚁和 12 种日本本土蚂蚁的踪迹 10 厘米处应用了 (Z)-9-十六碳烯。阿根廷蚂蚁的踪迹在很大程度上受到干扰，而对日本本土蚂蚁的影响几乎无法察觉。这些结果表明，这种“踪迹中断识别方法”是一种在日本识别阿根廷蚂蚁的简单快捷的方法，并且这种方法对日本本土蚂蚁的影响很小，如果存在的话。