Interaction between ants and the Mediterranean fruit fly: New insights for biological control

Campolo, Orlando; Palmeri, Vincenzo; Malacrinò, Antonino; Laudani, Francesca; Castracani, Cristina; Mori, Alessandra; Grasso, Donató A.

doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2015.06.004

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Our analysis on the effects of the ants on plant health proves a positive effect on leaf damages and a decrease in phytophagous insects due to the ant presence. This result is consistent with the positive impact of ants on plant predators reported in many field and laboratory studies [24,25,70,71,72,73,74]. The defensive outcome may follow from the deterrent effect of ant presence and patrolling on other insects, or from direct attacks on phytophagous arthropods or their eggs [28,75].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Gall-Colonizing Ants and Their Role as Plant Defenders: From ’Bad Job’ to ’Useful Service’

Giannetti

Castracani

Spotti

et al. 2019

Insects

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Galls are neoformed structures on host plant tissues caused by the attack of insects or other organisms. They support different communities of specialized parasitic insects (the gall inducers), and can also provide refuge to other insects, such as moths, beetles and ants, referred to as secondary occupants. This study focuses on galls induced by the oak gall wasp Andricus quercustozae and secondarily colonized by ants in a mixed oak forest. A field survey and two experiments were carried out to a) study ant (species-specific) preferences for different features of the galls, b) describe differences in gall architecture due to ant activity, c) analyse the effects of the presence of gall-dwelling ants on plant health. The results show that there are differences between ant species in gall colonization and in the alteration of gall opening and inner structure. We verified that gall-dwelling ants protect their host plants efficiently, offering them an indirect defence mechanism against enemies (predators and pathogens). The data suggest a new paradigm in ant–plant relationships mediated by the presence of galls on the plants whose ecological and evolutionary implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Gall-Colonizing Ants and Their Role as Plant Defenders: From ’Bad Job’ to ’Useful Service’

Giannetti

Castracani

Spotti

et al. 2019

Insects

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“…These have usually been employed in forest ecosystems [68,69], and much more rarely in agroecosystems, to which they had to be transported [48,70]. Only a few studies have dealt with ants in Italian agroecosystems (e.g., [71][72][73][74][75][76][77]). However, native ant species common in Italy and in the Mediterranean basin could be effective control agents against highly problematic pests such as the exotic brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) [78], fungi and other herbivores [79].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases, common harvester ants may have a positive role in the control of weeds [80]. Many of the above-mentioned ant characteristics considered promising for biological control were also documented for Italian ants (e.g., [7,68,74,75,[81][82][83][84]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Schifani

Castracani

Giannetti

et al. 2020

Insects

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Knowledge of the role of ants in many agroecosystems is relatively scarce, and in temperate regions the possibility to exploit ants as biocontrol agents for crop protection is still largely unexplored. Drawing inspiration from mutualistic ant-plant relationships mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), we tested the use of artificial nectaries (ANs) in order to increase ant activity on pear trees and to evaluate the effects on the arthropods, plant health and fruit production. While EFNs secrete a complex solution mainly composed of sugars and amino acids, ANs were filled with water and sucrose only. The results suggest that ANs can be used as manipulative instruments to increase ant activity over long periods of time. High ant activity was significantly linked to lower incidence of the pathogen fungus Venturia pyrina (pear scab) on pear leaves, and of the presence of Cydia pomonella (codling moth) caterpillars on pear fruit production. These results further encourage exploring underrated possibilities in the development of new tools for conservation biological control (CBC).

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“…Ants are known to prey on larval stages of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Campolo et al., 2015) and pupal stages of B. oleae (Orsini et al., 2007). Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander) detects the larva through chemical signals, which are secreted from the larval body (Campolo et al., 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of secretions from the ant species Camponotus compressus and Messor himalayanus on Bactrocera dorsalis

Abbas

Zaib

Zakria

et al. 2021

Entomologia Exp Applicata

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The mango fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a devastating pest of mango fruit. The present study was performed to investigate the potential of ants as biocontrol agents against B. dorsalis. The two predatory ant species Camponotus compressus (Fabricius) and Messor himalayanus (Forel) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) were used in field and laboratory experiments against B. dorsalis. Mangifera indica (L.) (Anacardiaceae) mangoes were exposed to various numbers of ants. Females of B. dorsalis were monitored for landing, oviposition, and time spent on treated and untreated mango fruits. In a Y‐tube olfactometer, the response was tested of B. dorsalis towards mangoes that were either exposed or not to ants. Results showed that female adults oviposited 5× more on unexposed mangoes than on exposed mangoes. Ant secretions affected the behavior of B. dorsalis and reduced oviposition, number of landings, and time spent on the fruits. It can be concluded that a population of B. dorsalis might be controlled using the secretions of ants.

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Interaction between ants and the Mediterranean fruit fly: New insights for biological control

Cited by 22 publications

References 46 publications

Gall-Colonizing Ants and Their Role as Plant Defenders: From ’Bad Job’ to ’Useful Service’

Gall-Colonizing Ants and Their Role as Plant Defenders: From ’Bad Job’ to ’Useful Service’

New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Effect of secretions from the ant species Camponotus compressus and Messor himalayanus on Bactrocera dorsalis

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