Abstract
The little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is native to the neotropics, but has become one of the world’s most widespread and destructive invasive ants. In Hawaii, LFA was first discovered in 1999 on the Big Island and since then has rapidly spread to neighboring islands, causing ecological and economic damage. LFA can develop fully functional nests on the ground and arboreally, and their foraging and retrieval of food resources is facilitated by a well-developed recruitment system. LFA were found to form recruitment trails on epiphytic moss growing on macadamia nut trees. As a first step to identify LFA recruitment pheromone components, we tested the LFA worker trail-following response to naturally marked epiphytic moss trails. Significantly more LFA workers placed on a natural trail followed the trail and made 90° turns to continue following the trail compared to when they were placed on a fake trail that had no trail marking substance(s). In laboratory choice assays using hexane extracts of moss with and without LFA trail, LFA workers preferred to follow a trail drawn with a hexane extract of moss that had a recruitment trail over a trail drawn with a hexane extract of moss only. Our results confirm that LFA workers readily follow a trail marking substance(s) laid down on epiphytic moss.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Banks WA, Lofgren CS, Jouvenaz DP, Stringer CE, Bishop PM, Williams DF, Wojcik PD, Glancey BM (1981) Techniques for collecting, rearing, and handling imported fire ants. US Dept Agric Tech AAT-S-21, p 9
Causton CE, Sevilla CR, Porter SD (2005) Eradication of the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera : Formicidae), from Marchena Island, Galapagos: on the edge of success? Fla Entomol 88:159–168
Cerdá X, van Oudenhove L, Bernstein C, Boulay RR (2014) A list of and some comments about the trail pheromones of ants. Nat Product Comm 9:1115–1122
Derstine NT, Troyer EJ, Suttles CN, Siderhurst LA, Jang EB, Siderhurst MS (2012) Field trapping the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. J Insect Sci 12:93
Greenberg L, Klotz JH (2000) Argentine ant (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) trail pheromone enhances consumption of liquid sucrose solution. J Econ Entomol 93:119–122
Hara AH, Cabral SK, Niino-Duponte RY, Jacobsen CM, Onuma K (2011) Bait insecticides and hot water drenches against the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), infesting containerized nursery plants. Fla Entomol 94:517–526
Le Breton J, Chazeau J, Jourdan H (2003) Immediate impacts of invasion by Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on native litter ant fauna in a New Caledonian rainforest. Austral Ecol 28:204–209
Lee DJ, Motoki M, Vanderwoude C, Nakamoto ST, Leung P (2015) Taking the sting out of little fire ant in Hawaii. Ecol Econ 111:100–110
Lofgren CS (1986) The search for chemical bait toxicants. In: Lofgren CS, Vander Meer RK (eds) Fire ants and leaf cutting ants: biology and management. Westview Press, Boulder, pp 369–377
Lubin YD (1984) Changes in the native fauna of the Galapagos Islands following invasion by the little red fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. Biol J Linn Soc 21:229–242
Montgomery MP, Vanderwoude C, Lynch AJJ (2015) Palatability of baits containing (S)-methoprene to Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Fla Entomol 98:451–455
Rosselli D, Wetterer JK (2017) Stings of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as cause of punctate corneal lesions in humans and other animals. J Med Entomol 54:1783–1785
SAS Institute (2009) SAS/STAT 9.2 User’s Guide, Second Edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina, USA
Silverman J, Roulston TH (2001) Acceptance and intake of gel and liquid sucrose compositions by the Argentine ant. J Econ Entomol 94:511–515
Souza E, Follett PA, Price DK, Stacy EA (2008) Field suppression of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a tropical fruit orchard in Hawaii. J Econ Entomol 101:1068–1074
Suckling DM, Peck RW, Manning LM, Stringer LD, Cappadonna J, El-Sayed AM (2008) Pheromone disruption of argentine Ant Trail integrity. J Chem Ecol 34:1602–1609
Suckling DM, Peck RW, Stringer LD, Snook K, Banko PC (2010a) Trail pheromone disruption of Argentine ant trail formation and foraging. J Chem Ecol 36:122–1128
Suckling DM, Stringer LD, Bunn B, El-Sayed AM, Vander Meer RK (2010b) Trail pheromone disruption of red imported fire ant. J Chem Ecol 36:744–750
Suckling DM, Stringer LD, Corn JE, Bunn B, El-Sayed AM, Vander Meer RK (2012) Aerosol delivery of trail pheromone disrupts the foraging of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Pest Manag Sci 68:1572–1578
Tanaka Y, Nishisue K, Sunamura E, Suzuki S, Sakamoto H, Fukumoto T, Terayama M, Tatsuki S (2009) Trail-following disruption in the invasive argentine ant with a synthetic trail pheromone component (Z)-9-hexadecenal. Sociobiology 54:139–152
Troyer EJ, Derstine NT, Showalter DN, Jang EB, Siderhurst MS (2009) Field studies of Wasmannia auropunctata alkylpyrazines: towards management applications. Sociobiology 54:955–971
Vander Meer RK (1996) Pheromone enhanced baits for pest ant control: current status and future prospects. In: Wildey KB (ed) Proceedings of the second international conference on insect pests in the urban environments. International conference on urban pests, 7–10 July 1996, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp 531–539
Vander Meer RK, Breed MD, Karl EE, Mark LW (1998) Pheromone communication in social insects: ants, wasps, bees, and termites. Westview Press, Boulder
Vonshak M, Dayan T, Ionescu-Hirsh A, Freidberg A, Hefetz A (2010) The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata: a new invasive species in the Middle East and its impact on the local arthropod fauna. Biol Invasions 12:1825–1837
Welzel KF, Choe DH (2016) Development of a pheromone-assisted baiting technique for argentine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Econ Entomol 109:1303–1309
Westermann FL, Bell VA, Suckling DM, Lester PJ (2016) Synthetic pheromones as a management technique - dispensers reduce Linepithema humile activity in a commercial vineyard. Pest Manag Sci 72:719–724
Wetterer JK, Porter SD (2003) The little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata: distribution, impact, and control. Sociobiology 42:1–41
Wilson EO (1962) Chemical communication among workers of the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima (Fr. Smith) 1. The organization of mass-foraging. Anim Behav 10:140–147
Zar JH (1984) Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA
Acknowledgements
We thank two anonymous reviewers for insightful comments and David Oi for consultation on initial LFA colony establishment and maintenance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cha, D.H., Skabeikis, D., Collignon, R.M. et al. Behavioral Response of Little Fire Ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), to Trail Chemicals Laid on Epiphytic Moss. J Insect Behav 32, 145–152 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-019-09721-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-019-09721-0