The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches
Production of live weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda and O. smaragdina) colonies is being developed as the ants provide several ecosystem services in agriculture and as they are used in education and research laboratories. Founding queens needed for colony production can be caught in artificial nests...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
2017-05-01
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| Series: | Sociobiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/1216 |
| _version_ | 1818902055079641088 |
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| author | Wilson A. Nene Joachim Offenberg Gration M Rwegasira Maulid w Mwatawala |
| author_facet | Wilson A. Nene Joachim Offenberg Gration M Rwegasira Maulid w Mwatawala |
| author_sort | Wilson A. Nene |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Production of live weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda and O. smaragdina) colonies is being developed as the ants provide several ecosystem services in agriculture and as they are used in education and research laboratories. Founding queens needed for colony production can be caught in artificial nests made of live leaves that are curled on trees. In this study we investigated if the catch rate of O. longinoda queens in artificial nests could be improved by attracting queens to trees with a light source (electric torches). We compared catch rates of 50 artificial nests on each of eight citrus trees, four of them with light and four without light. During two mating seasons covering 9 mating flights we caught a total of 178 queens. However, 3.8 times more queens were caught in the trees with light compared to trees without light. We conclude that queen catches can be highly improved by combining artificial nests with an attracting light source. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T20:29:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a6be867a52744e28a46d877c641a44e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0361-6525 2447-8067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T20:29:33Z |
| publishDate | 2017-05-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociobiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a6be867a52744e28a46d877c641a44e82022-12-21T20:06:45ZengUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaSociobiology0361-65252447-80672017-05-0164110.13102/sociobiology.v64i1.1216The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catchesWilson A. Nene0Joachim Offenberg1Gration M Rwegasira2Maulid w Mwatawala3Naliendele Agricultural Research InstituteAarhus UniversitySokoine University of AgricultureSokoine University of AgricultureProduction of live weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda and O. smaragdina) colonies is being developed as the ants provide several ecosystem services in agriculture and as they are used in education and research laboratories. Founding queens needed for colony production can be caught in artificial nests made of live leaves that are curled on trees. In this study we investigated if the catch rate of O. longinoda queens in artificial nests could be improved by attracting queens to trees with a light source (electric torches). We compared catch rates of 50 artificial nests on each of eight citrus trees, four of them with light and four without light. During two mating seasons covering 9 mating flights we caught a total of 178 queens. However, 3.8 times more queens were caught in the trees with light compared to trees without light. We conclude that queen catches can be highly improved by combining artificial nests with an attracting light source.http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/1216light sourcenatural predatorfounding queenTanzania |
| spellingShingle | Wilson A. Nene Joachim Offenberg Gration M Rwegasira Maulid w Mwatawala The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches Sociobiology light source natural predator founding queen Tanzania |
| title | The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches |
| title_full | The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches |
| title_fullStr | The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches |
| title_full_unstemmed | The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches |
| title_short | The use of light to enhance weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) queen catches |
| title_sort | use of light to enhance weaver ant oecophylla longinoda latreille hymenoptera formicidae queen catches |
| topic | light source natural predator founding queen Tanzania |
| url | http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/1216 |
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