Corpse‐associated odours elicit avoidance in invasive ants

Abstract

BACKGROUNDInvasive ants, such as Linepithema humile (the Argentine ant), pose a global threat, necessitating a better understanding of their behaviour in order to improve management strategies. Traditional eradication methods, including baiting, have had limited success, but the causes of control failure are not always clear. This study aims to investigate whether ants form associations between food odours and corpses, and subsequently avoid areas or food sources with food odours associated with corpses. We propose that ants may learn to avoid toxic baits in part because of their association with ant corpses, which could have implications for pest control strategies.RESULTSAnts were tested on a Y‐maze after exposure to scented corpses or dummies. 69% (n = 64) of ants avoided branches bearing the scent of scented corpses. Colonies neglected food with corpse‐associated odours, with only 42% (n = 273) of foragers feeding from such sources. However, if corpses were produced by feeding ants scented toxicant, focal ants encountering these corpses did not avoid the corpse‐associated scent on a Y‐maze (53%, n = 65). In dual‐feeder tests, ants did not avoid feeding at food sources scented with odours associated with conspecific corpses.CONCLUSIONConspecific corpses act as a negative stimulus for ants in a foraging situation, potentially causing avoidance of toxic baits. This study suggests adding odours to baits and cycling them to disrupt the bait–corpse association may be helpful. Interestingly, although avoidance of baits was observed, feeding preferences were not significantly affected. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

A high-throughput and sensitive method for food preference assays in walking insects

“…However, controlling ants poses considerable challenges: two-thirds of eradication efforts targeting invasive ants have proven unsuccessful (Hoffmann et al 2016). Alongside bait active bait abandonment or aversion (Wagner and Czaczkes 2024; Zanola et al 2024) a significant challenge lies in the availability of high-quality natural food sources, which ants often prefer, resulting in inconsistent bait consumption (Rust et al 2003; Silverman and Brightwell 2008). To effectively address this challenge, it is crucial to understanding the feeding preferences of ants.…”