Abstract Native ants are the oldest example of biological control agents used in tropical tree crops. Unfortunately, intensification of agricultural practices has led to a simplification of habitat and subsequent loss of native ant biodiversity. This article describes research that evaluated the native and introduced ants present in the canopies of two Australian sun coffee plantations, their distribution pattern and their potential to limit pests. The presence in coffee plantations of a range of beneficial insects and parasites, plus the effect of ants, most notably Iridomyrmex suchieri Forel, may maintain potential pests at low levels in coffee plantations. These effects may be important for future biological control programs of coffee pests in Australia, although the sun coffee grown here does not harbor a large variety of canopy ant species.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚北部咖啡种植园蚂蚁的潜在保护价值

摘要 本土蚂蚁是用于热带树木作物的生物防治剂的最古老例子。不幸的是，农业实践的强化导致栖息地的简化和本地蚂蚁生物多样性的随后丧失。本文介绍了评估存在于两个澳大利亚阳光咖啡种植园树冠中的本地蚂蚁和外来蚂蚁的研究、它们的分布模式以及它们限制害虫的潜力。咖啡种植园中存在一系列有益昆虫和寄生虫，加上蚂蚁的影响，最显着的是 Iridomyrmexsuchieri Forel，可能会将咖啡种植园中的潜在害虫保持在低水平。这些影响可能对澳大利亚未来咖啡害虫的生物控制计划很重要，尽管这里种植的太阳咖啡没有种类繁多的树冠蚂蚁。