Red Imported Fire Ants: Impact on Biodiversity

The Biology and Control of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella

“…Dweck et al [87] showed that female B. hebetor utilize the male produced sex pheromone to locate the host, the GWM. Separately, in an attempt to determine the most suitable lepidopteran host for the parasitoid, Ghimire and Phillips [88] reported high oviposition rates but significantly lower parasitoid survival rates on G. mellonella larvae compared with other host species. However, there are no confirmed cases of field trials.…”

“…Despite its potential as a biological control agent, the cost of having large numbers of RIFA might raise genuine concerns because: (1) it is a predator of ground-nesting bees and (2) it is also a nursery pest which has infested an estimated 106 million ha of land in eastern states of the United States [69]. In North America, a significant decline in biodiversity of fauna has been linked with the invasion of natural habitats by RIFA [88]. These deficiencies strongly suggest that it will be inappropriate to use RIFA as a replacement for insecticides, and thus there is a need for alternative management options.…”

“…They are broadly classified into two groups: pheromones and allelochemicals [94,95]. In the past decade, there have been tremendous advancements in the chemical ecology of insects, following the invention of analytical and electrophysiological techniques, and equipment as well as improvement of existing ones [86,88,89,96,97,98,99,100,101]. Honeybees are among the most well studied living organisms [102].…”

Characterization of Allele Diversity in a Microsatellite Locus: A Registry for <i>Solenopsis invicta</i>

“…Native from South America, Solenopsis invicta Buren (1972) was accidentally introduced in many countries and has become a great public concern, causing serious damage to crops, livestock, native biodiversity, and human health [4]- [7]. The potential global range expansion of S. invicta has been correlated with temperature and precipitation, and abrupt variations of these factors may limit the success of the expansion [4].…”

“…The potential global range expansion of S. invicta has been correlated with temperature and precipitation, and abrupt variations of these factors may limit the success of the expansion [4].…”