A B S T R A C TOdor sensation is a sensory modality of considerable significance in the foraging behavior and interactional organization of ants. In the food bait technology, smell is the basis of attraction, which, in turn, is the line of bait use and a key parameter for judging efficacy. Yet, the currently available baits possess low attractiveness to many ant pests. Hence, strategies to produce ant bait with increased attractiveness are needed. Despite evidence that coffee has a diverse aroma complex that affects the behavior of honey bees and ants, its attraction to houseinvading ants has yet to be investigated. In a series of Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, we examined the behavioral responses of Tapinoma indicum (TI), Monomorium pharaonis (MP) and Solenopsis geminata (SG) to various coffeeinduced odor stimuli, comprised of extracts from Arabica, Robusta and Liberica. All coffee extracts showed an influence on the behavior of TI, MP and SG workers, with Arabica showed the most significant influence to the tested ants. The workers of TI, MP and SG were more attracted to the odor of 0.01% Arabica extract (ONE), in comparison with 0.05% Arabica extract (TWO) or 0.10% Arabica extract (THREE). Arabica extract mixed with sugar (S) elicited a significant attraction from workers of all three species in a balanced competition with either unsweetened Arabica extract or water. These results indicated that coffee, particularly Arabica, was attractive to the foragers of TI, MP and SG, thus, the use of coffee as a novel stimulus agent seems plausible in ant bait development.
SUMMARYOdor sensation is a sensory modality of considerable significance in the foraging behavior and interactional organization of ants. In the food bait technology, smell is the basis of attraction, which in turn, is the initial line of bait use and a key parameter for judging efficacy. Yet, baits that are currently available possess low attractiveness to many ant pests. Hence, strategies to produce ant bait with increased attractiveness are needed. Despite evidence that coffee has a diverse aroma complex that affects the behavior of honey bees, which share many social and genetic traits with ants, its attraction to formicine foragers have yet to be investigated. In a series of Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, we examined the behavioral responses of Tapinoma indicum (TI), Monomorium pharaonis (MP) and Solenopsis geminata (SG) to various coffee-induced odor stimuli, comprised of extracts from Arabica, Robusta and Liberica. All coffee species showed an influence on the behavior of TI, MP and SG workers, but the clearest effect was seen with Arabica. The workers of TI, MP and SG were more attracted to the odor of 0.01% Arabica extract (ONE), in comparison with 0.05% Arabica extract (TWO) or 0.05% Arabica extract (THREE). Arabica extract mixed with sugar (S) elicited significant attraction from workers of all three species when in balanced competition with either unsweetened Arabica extract or water. These results indicate that coffee, particularly Arabica is attractive to the foragers of TI, MP and SG, and can encourage the use of coffee in bait development. As coffee is already accepted in most human societies, the development of coffee-based bait may be an attractive option.
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