The invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), has become a worldwide problem capable of inflicting significant ecological and economic injury on urban, agricultural, and natural environments. The mobility of this pest ant has long been noted, rapidly moving nests to new food resources and then away as resources are depleted. This ant, like many pest ant species, has a special affinity for honeydew excreted by phloem-feeding Hemiptera. We investigated the effect of various hemipteran control strategies on terrapin scale densities and measured their indirect effect on local Argentine ant densities and foraging effort. We then determined whether this indirect treatment strategy improved the performance of an ant bait. We predicted that Argentine ants would move nests away from trees treated for Hemiptera and then move nests back when a liquid bait was offered, followed by a decline in ant numbers due to intake of the toxicant. A horticultural oil spray and soil application of the systemic insecticide, imidacloprid, had no effect on terrapin scale numbers. However, trunk-injected dicrotophos caused a reduction in scale and a decline in local Argentine ant nest density and canopy foraging effort. We also recorded a reduction in local Argentine ant ground foraging when large amounts of liquid bait were applied, and we found no evidence that combining dicrotophos with liquid ant bait performed better than each treatment alone. We suggest that a strategy of combined hemipteran control plus application of liquid ant bait can reduce local Argentine ant densities, when both components of this system are highly efficacious.
The effectiveness of two commercial bee attractants, Bee-Scent and Beeline, for enhancing pollination of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai] was evaluated by counting the number of bee visitations to blossoms of cucumber and watermelon and their effect(s) on fruit quality, yield, and crop profitability. In 1989, Bee-Scent was tested in a commercial pickling cucumber field. In 1990, watermelon plots were sprayed with Bee-Scent and Beeline and compared with a nontreated control. The compounds did not improve bee visitations for either pickling cucumbers or watermelons. There was no significant improvement in cucumber or watermelon yield or monetary returns.
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