Native ants facilitate the invasion by Delottococcus aberiae in Mediterranean citrus

Plata, Ángel; Gómez‐Martínez, María A.; Beitia, Francisco J.; Tena, Alejandro

doi:10.1007/s10340-023-01615-7

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Mediterranean ant L. grandis is the dominant ant species tending D. aberiae in citrus orchards 2 . This work demonstrated that L. grandis presence decreased the density of generalist predators, especially spiders and neuropterans, which may have benefited D. aberiae .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Ant‐attendance on experimental trees was assessed between June and September in both years (2020 and 2021), when D. aberiae was most abundant in the canopies. To measure ant‐attendance, three indices were measured for each tree 2,16,32 . (i) ‘Ant‐attendance’ was calculated as the ratio of D. aberiae colonies attended by ants ( D. aberiae colonies observed with at least one ant divided by the total number ( i.e .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This mealybug species is native to southern Africa and arrived in Spain in 2009. Since then, it has spread throughout the main citrus‐producing area of Spain 1,2 . In Mediterranean citrus orchards, D. aberiae completes up to seven generations per year 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This mutualism between tending ants and mealybugs has been studied widely, and has been found to reduce the efficacy of biological control agents in citrus 10–15 . The Mediterranean native tree‐foraging ant Lasius grandis Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is closely associated with D. aberiae in Valencian citrus orchards 2 . This relationship might increase the abundance and facilitate the spread of D. aberiae in Spanish citrus, where L. grandis is widely distributed and is active most of the year 2,16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Mediterranean native tree‐foraging ant Lasius grandis Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is closely associated with D. aberiae in Valencian citrus orchards 2 . This relationship might increase the abundance and facilitate the spread of D. aberiae in Spanish citrus, where L. grandis is widely distributed and is active most of the year 2,16 . However, it is unknown whether excluding this ant species might reduce the abundance of D. aberiae as a consequence of increased natural enemy activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus

Plata

Gómez‐Martínez

Beitia

et al. 2023

Pest Management Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND: Delottococcus aberiae is an invasive mealybug that produces severe damage in Spanish citrus. This mealybug has established a mutualistic relationship with native Mediterranean ant species that may limit biological control of this pest. Herein, we evaluated the effect of tending ants on the biological control of D. aberiae. To do this, we compared: (i) the density of D. aberiae, (ii) the density of its natural enemies, and (iii) the damage produced by the mealybug in trees with (control) and without ants (ants excluded with sticky barriers) in two citrus orchards across two consecutive years. RESULTS: Lasius grandis was the most abundant ant species in both orchards and represented more than 95% of the ants tending D. aberiae in control trees. Spiders and lacewings were the most abundant predators observed in mealybug colonies, and the exclusion of mutualistic ants increased their abundance. Moreover, in control trees, ant activity throughout the year was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of predators (number of predators per mealybug). No parasitoids were recovered during field experiments. Ant exclusion reduced the density of D. aberiae and the ratio of damaged fruit at harvest across years and orchards.CONCLUSIONS: This work corroborates the previous finding that D. aberiae benefits from its mutualistic relationship with L. grandis, probably because the presence of ants reduced the abundance of generalist predators. This mutualism can be disrupted using physical barriers on on the trunk. Further research should assess other methods of ant control that are more economic and feasible for citrus producers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%