Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2021) 169, 780-791

Danielle Hoefele, Jaime M. Chalissery, Asim Renyard and Gerhard Gries (2021)
Experimentally guided development of a food bait for European fire ants
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 169 (9), 780-791
Abstract: Deployment of lethal food baits could become a control tactic for the invasive European fire ant (EFA), Myrmica rubra L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), because foraging ants carry the lethal food to their nest and share it with their nest mates, ultimately causing the demise of nests. Our objective was to develop a food bait that elicits a strong foraging response from EFAs, has extended shelf life, and is cost-effective to produce. To develop a bait composition with 'ant appeal', we ran two separate field experiments testing pre-selected carbohydrate sources (oranges, apples, bananas) and protein/lipid sources [tuna, pollen, sunflower seeds, mealworms (Tenebrio molitor L., Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)]. Whereas foraging EFAs responded equally well to the three types of carbohydrates, they preferred mealworms to all other protein/lipid sources. In a follow-up laboratory experiment, the combination of apples and mealworms elicited a stronger foraging response from EFAs than either apples or mealworms alone. To help reduce bait ingredient costs, we tested house crickets, Acheta domesticus (L.) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), as a less expensive mealworm alternative and found crickets and mealworms comparably appealing. Addressing the shelf life of baits, we tested freeze-dried and heat-dried apple/cricket combinations. Rehydrated freeze-dried baits proved as appealing as fresh baits and superior to rehydrated heat-dried baits, suggesting that freeze-drying may retain essential nutrients and/or aroma constituents. Insecticide-laced baits had no off-putting effect on foraging responses of worker ants and caused significant mortality. As freeze-drying is expensive, further research should investigate the preservation of moist food baits or the development of dry baits that are hydrated prior to deployment.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
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Database assignments for author(s): Gerhard Gries

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pheromones/attractants/traps
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Myrmica rubra		Canada (west)