Economic Rationale of Using African Weaver Ants, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for Sustainable Management of Cashew Pests in Tanzania

Rwegasira, G. M.; Mwatawala, M.; Rwegasira, Rozalia G.; Rashidi, Abdullah N.; Wilson, Nene; George, William Juma

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-37537-9_25

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The present study exposed the erceness of major workers foragers encounter with any intruders and other weaver ants from different colonies, showing that foraging and colony defense is a risky duty, impairing substantially the survival ability and therefore incurring high mortality rates in ants (Chapuisat & Keller, 2002). This is particularly true in the Oecophylla genus, where major workers aggressively defend extensive territories, by performing permanent foraging duties, against con-speci c individuals from different colonies seen as competitors or intruders in the case of O. smaragdina (Peng et al, 1999;Saarinen, 2006;Peng & Christian, 2009) and O. longinoda (Rwegasira et al, 2020). The same strategy is systematically adopted as soon as the colony expands its territory by performing initially extensive foraging activity to explore suitable new areas (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990).…”

Section: Ground-dwelling Activity Territorial Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between weather parameters and foraging daily activity of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oil palm plantations: Case Study

Pierre

Ramli

Idris

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Asian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaradigma is a nuisance species, effect the plantation employee due to their painful bites. The O. smaragdina was reported as one of the potential predators for the invasive bagworm species, Pteroma pendula in the oil palm plantation. Despite their important role in the plantation, however the study on the ecology and behaviour of the O. smaragdina is still lacking and not discovered. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships between the foraging daily activities of the O. smaragdina with the weather parameters. In 2018-2022, this study investigates the trunk foraging activity pattern of O. smaragdina colonies (9 days per colony) from selected plantations, as an effort of mitigation. In 2020-2022, a targeted field study was undertaken to examine the daily trunk foraging activities of major workers in relation to air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH), air pressure (AP) and rainfall (RI). Ground forager behaviours were observed and examined from the trunk trail split covering an average frontal fluctuating angle from base palms. It is suggested that O. smaragdina is a diurnal ant species with much lesser crepuscular intensity. It is demonstrating similar daily foraging activity patterns featuring higher intensity during the warmest daily periods in relation to population size relative abundance. This was irrespective of the dry-wet seasons corresponding to low activity from late scoot-phase to early photo phase, exhibiting a bimodal foraging pattern. Throughout the overnight period, foraging activity ceased. O. smaragdina is a visual light dependent hunter for efficient intensive foraging. Active foragers reached peaks at around 1100 to 1530 hours, and from 1745 to 1845 hours. Between 1620 and 1650 hours, foragers demonstrated a two-fold daily decline in intensity on average. There was a strong positive correlation between foraging activity, AT and AP but negatively correlated with RH. Sustained RI stopped the trunk-ground trail activity of O. smaragdina, exposing outbound foragers withdrawing massively to the canopies. Defensive territorial layers are established from the base palm trunks reaching an average 5 m distance featuring two distinct spatial arrangements. Major workers trunk trails split into several new lines on an average 3 m radius showing higher foraging density. The trails broke off to expand into a web shape figure occupation reaching on average 5 m. The avoidance of forager relentless attacks can be achieved during the daily low activity periods (before 1000 hours) for pruning and harvesting tasks if the adoption of O. smaragdina is implemented to control the invasive Metisa plana bagworm species.

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Section: Ground-dwelling Activity Territorial Defencementioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between weather parameters and foraging daily activity of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oil palm plantations: Case Study

Pierre

Ramli

Idris

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…In Zanzibar, O. longinoda was reported attending Saissetia zanzibarensis (Way, 1954), as was observed in this study. The ant has also been found in close association with other mealybugs and scale insects (Dwomoh et al, 2008;Olotu et al, 2013); it is used as a biological control agent against other, non-scale pests' elsewhere (Way, 1954;Mele et al, 2007;Olotu et al, 2013;Carrillo et al, 2017;Rwegasira et al, 2020).…”

Section: Citrus Sinensis Is a New Plant Association Formentioning

confidence: 99%

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) on citrus trees in Coastal and Lower Eastern Counties, Kenya

Watson¹,

Nderitu²,

Ong’amo³

et al. 2020

J. Agric. Sci. Pract.

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A survey of citrus orchards was conducted in Kilifi, Kwale, Machakos and Makueni counties, Kenya to collect and identify ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and natural enemies associated with scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) feeding on citrus trees (Sapindales: Rutaceae). Nine ant species were found associated with nine scale insect species feeding on three citrus species (Citrus limon, C. reticulata and C. sinensis) for their honeydew. The ants associated with the scales in the study areas were: Cataulacus brevisetosus (Forel), Camponotus rufiglaucus (Jerdon), Crematogaster castanea (Smith), Cr. sjostedti (Mayr), Monomorium afrum (Andre), Myrmicaria opaciventris (Emery), Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille), Pheidole megacephalla (Fabricius), and Technomyrmex albipes (Fr. Smith). The ant Myrmicaria opaciventris was recorded attending four scale insects’ species: Coccus hesperidum, Co. viridis, Pulvinaria polygonata (Hemiptera: Coccidae) and Pseudococcus cryptus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Kilifi County. Host-plant identities and localities surveyed are also presented. These new data for citrus-growing areas in Kenya will contribute to the development of integrated pest management programs on citrus.

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“…Te Ethiopian government has carried out various land management practices on cultivated land, including contour (level) bunds, hillside terraces with aforestation, and hillside closures over the past fve decades to restore land productivity [8]. Sasakawa Global 2000, the Sustainable Land Management Programme, and other related projects have increasingly promoted soil and water management through conservation agriculture (CA) in Ethiopia [9]. CA is defned as soil management practices that minimize disturbance to the soil structure, composition, and biodiversity [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Ethiopia, many smallholders use conventional tillage (CT) since the decision to adopt CA is infuenced by socioeconomic, institutional, and biophysical factors [9,14]. Te formal education of household heads, family size, age, frequent contact with development agents, and smallholders' average income have all been major infuencing factors for practicing CA [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholders' Conservation Agriculture Adoption Decision in Arba Minch and Derashe Districts of Southwestern Ethiopia

Lejissa

Wakjira

Anjulo

et al. 2023

Applied and Environmental Soil Science

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This study examines smallholder farmers’ conservation agriculture (CA) adoption decisions from a soil management perspective in two semiarid areas of southwestern Ethiopia. The analysis was based on a survey of 392 household heads in each of the mixed maize/sorghum/teff + Moringa stenopetala of Derashe district and maize/teff + banana fruit tree in Arba Minch Zuriya district farming systems. Two groups of smallholders that practice different land management, i.e., conservation agriculture and conventional tillage, were selected. A binary logistic regression model was used to answer the question of factors that determine smallholders’ initial decision to adopt CA. Nine explanatory variables including the age of the household head, level of formal education, family size, size of total landholding in hectares, size of livestock owned in the tropical livestock unit, farming experience, net income from annual + perennial crops, provided extension service by development agents, and lack of access to small-scale irrigation were included in the analysis. The study result revealed that nonpracticing groups have higher schooling, farmland holding, and livestock relative to CA-practicing households. Households with increasing age, schooling, total livestock holding, and higher net per annum income were less likely to practice CA. However, the CA practicing decision was high with an increase in extension service and lack of access to small-scale irrigation. Though CA with the Targa-na-Potayta mulching technique is an age-old practice in the Derashe area, the impact of extension service has indispensable benefits in extending the knowledge to younger smallholders.

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Economic Rationale of Using African Weaver Ants, Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for Sustainable Management of Cashew Pests in Tanzania

Cited by 3 publications

References 23 publications

Relationships between weather parameters and foraging daily activity of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oil palm plantations: Case Study

Relationships between weather parameters and foraging daily activity of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oil palm plantations: Case Study

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) on citrus trees in Coastal and Lower Eastern Counties, Kenya

Smallholders' Conservation Agriculture Adoption Decision in Arba Minch and Derashe Districts of Southwestern Ethiopia

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