Arthropod Populations in Permanent Pastures Treated and Untreated With Mirex for Red Imported Fire Ant 1 Control 2

Effect of Formica aserva Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on ground dwelling arthropods in central British Columbia.

“…Our findings support our hypothesis and suggest that the presence of F. aserva can be associated with changes in some spider species populations. The species-specific responses found among spiders in our study were also in agreement with the variation recorded in earlier studies (Howard & Oliver, 1978;Cherix & Bourne, 1980;Sudd & Lodhi, 1981). The majority of common spider species showed no significant difference in activity-abundance between colonized and non-colonized zones, which also agrees with the findings of other studies that recorded no difference in overall spider assemblage or abundance relative to the presence of ants (Van der Aart & de Wit, 1971;Sterling et al, 1979;Bruning, 1991).…”

“…workers was greater in areas where spiders had been removed (Sanders & Platner, 2007). Variation among the responses of spider to ants has also been reported in other studies (Howard & Oliver, 1978;Cherix & Bourne, 1980;Sudd & Lodhi, 1981).…”

“…(Asteraceae), near ant nests was determined to have a negative influence on spider abundance (Heikkinen, 1999). Additional studies have also found ants to have negative or mixed associations with spiders in other habitats (Howard & Oliver, 1978;Cherix & Bourne, 1980;Sudd & Lodhi, 1981;Halaj et al, 1997;Punttila et al, 2004;Sanders & Platner, 2007), while other studies have concluded that the presence of ants is inconsequential to spider populations (Van der Aart & de Wit, 1971;Sterling etal., 1979;Briming, 1991;Neuvonen et al, 2012).…”

“…Some carabids and ants appear to experience niche overlap in terms of feeding habits, distributions, and seasonal activity patterns (Lovei & Sunderland, 1996;Hawes et al, 2002). Ants are known to significantly affect other insect fauna (Holldobler & Wilson, 1990;Karhu, 1998;Laakso & Setala, 2000;Punttila et al, 2004), and negative interactions observed between some ants and carabids may be the result of competition or predation (Howard & Oliver, 1978;Hawes et al, 2002;McColl, 2010).…”

“…Given the ability of some beetles to perceive and respond to ant pheromones or other signals of ant presence, it is possible that carabids (Coleoptera: Carabidae) that occur with or near aggressive ant species may perceive and respond to similar signals. Several studies have identified mostly negative relationships between carabids and ants (Niemela et al, 1992;Koivula et al, 1999;Reznikova & Dorosheva, 2004;McColl, 2010), and it has been proposed that negative interactions observed between some ants and carabids may be the result of competition or predation (Howard & Oliver, 1978;Hawes et al, 2002). Where such interactions occur, selective pressures may favour carabids with the ability to detect and respond to ant semiochemicals.…”