Nests were moved from surrounding hills and placed in trees 3. Formicidae, on insect pests of cashew trees in australia volume 85 issue 2 r. Our observation in a fruit orchard of rambutan in sumatra. The importance of weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina fabricius. Usda laboratory for biological control established in france in 1919. In order to determine the feasibility and effect ofpreventing boundary fights between colonies, experiments with full, semi and noisolation of existing antcolonies in. This ant can protect the host plants from attacks of phytophagous insects and therefore has been used for biological control in the tropics. Weaver ant role in cashew orchards in vietnam journal of. Enhancing the weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera. Biological control the ant oecophylla smaragdina is an effective biocontrol agent of s. This manual counting was conducted twice by two researchers.
History and development of biological control notes i. Oecophylla smaragdina known as the living pesticide is utilized in biological control. There are two living species of oecophylla ants, o. Pdf weaver ants, oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera. Asian weaver ants, oecophylla smaragdina, and their. Interactions between weaver ants oecophylla smaragdina. Microbial community composition reveals spatial variation and. From at least 1600 ad onwards, movement of these ants between citrus trees was aided by installing bamboo rods as runways or bridges between trees debach, 1974. Using weaver antsoecophylla smaragdina, hymenoptera as. Fierce boundary fights between oecophylla smaragdina colonies were previously identified as the major factor limiting ant populations and the efficiency of ants as biological control agents. Lim abstract the weaver ant is a promising biological control agent of a shoot borer, hypsipyla. The effect of colony isolation of the predacious ant. Biological control of insect pests by insect parasitoids and predators.
Jul 17, 2018 the weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina is an aggressive predator of other arthropods and has been employed as a biological control agent against many insect pests in plantations. Asian weaver ants, oecophylla smaragdina, and their repelling. This ant can protect the host plants from attacks of. In southern vietnam, this traditional practice is rapidly disappearing as young fruit growers are intensifying their production systems. Weaver ants are edible for humans and high in protein and fatty acids. The effectiveness of weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina. Evaluation of antiulcer activity of ethanolic extract of oecophylla smaradina in albino rats html full text. The research necessary in seeking a biological control solution to a problem is often demanding in terms of scientific and technical staff, funds, and time, and a. To the same genus belongs only another species, oecophylla longinoda latreille, 1802 present in subsaharan africa.
Weaver ants, oecophylla smaragdina fabricius, have been successfully used to control the main insect pests of cashew plantations in northern australia and papua new guinea. In order to determine the feasibility and effect ofpreventing boundary fights between colonies, experiments with full, semi and noisolation of existing. However, it remains unclear how this habitat manipulation affects pest densities or biological control. We have knowledge of several fossile species having lived in europe between the eocene and oligocene. Formicidae, in relation to their success as biological control agents on cocoa volume 81 issue 3 m. Even though oecophylla smaragdina is a successful pest control agent, no attempts have been made to outline its molecular mechanism of action hitherto. Food preferences and foraging activity of asian weaver. Ants as tools in sustainable agriculture besjournals. Formicidae, an effective biological control agent of the redbanded thrips. The light and magnetic compass of the weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera. Weaver ants live in trees they are obligately arboreal and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk. Weaver ant oecophylla, an important biological control agent. The research evaluates the effects of the predaceous ant oecophylla smaragdina on three major pests of australian cacao helopeltis spp. Oecophylla smaragdina known as the living pesticide is utilized in biological control of crop pests.
The history of biological control may be divided into 3 periods. Oecophylla smaragdina common names include weaver ant, green ant, green tree ant, and orange gaster is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical asia and australia. Pdf field observational studies on circadian activity. The potential of this species as a biological control agent has been supported by many crop studies in. Colony dispersion and nesting habits of the ants, dolichoderus thoracicus and oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera. Nests of the ant oecophylla smaragdina were sold near canton in the 3rd century for use in control of citrus insect pests such as tesseratoma papillosa lepidoptera 2.
Pyralidae, in malaysian mahogany plantations grace t. The pdf file you selected should load here if your web browser has a pdf reader plugin installed for example, a recent version of adobe acrobat reader if you would like more information about how to print, save, and work with pdfs, highwire press provides a helpful frequently asked questions about pdfs alternatively, you can download the pdf file directly to your computer. Pdf the effectiveness of weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina. Studies on the predatory activities of oecophylla smaragdina. Because weaver ant workers hunt and kill insects that are potentially harmful plant pests, trees harboring weaver ants benefit from having decreased levels of herbivory. The use of biological control agents is one of their options. The effectiveness of weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina biocontrol. We present evidence for a possible negative effect of oecophylla on the performance of. The ant species thus shows great promise for biological control in oil palm. It is important because crop pests become resistant to chemical pesticides natural enemies of insect pests include predators, parasitoids, and pathogens.
Sustainable weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina farming. Weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina fabricius, 1775 is an aggressive predator that can be used. Formicidae, an effective biological control agent of the redbanded thrips, selenothrips rubrocinctus thysanoptera. Malaysian common name kerengga can be used to control insect herbivore pests in oil palm plantations. Oecophylla smaragdina an overview sciencedirect topics. In this way they are used indirectly as an alternative to chemical insecticides. In contrast, ants generally increased the densities of mealybugs. Thripidae in mango crops in the northern territory of australia. Weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina is an important insect. Oecophylla smaragdina, life history, biological control, india. Peranan semut rangrang oecophylla smaragdina dalam. Oecophylla smaragdina is a wellknown biological control agent used to control mango seed weevil, yellow looper, bush cricket, fruitspotting bug, and redbanded thrips populations in the northern. The effect of the green ant, oecophylla smaragdina.
Franks, in advances in the study of behavior, 2003. Biocontrol of home invading rubber litter beetle, luprops. Formicidae, have been documented as most effective biocontrol agents of a range of insect pests. Importance acetic acid bacteria aab of the family acetobacteraceae are increasingly reported as symbionts of a wide range of insects but cultivationbased study to explore their functional role in the host remains limited. A method of using oecophylla ants together with orchard sanitation has been developed for controlling s. Biological control agents of weeds include herbivores and plant.
Oecophylla smaragdina is a wellknown biological control agent used to control mango seed weevil, yellow looper, bush cricket, fruitspotting bug, and redbanded thrips populations in the. The attainment of biological control of one major pest on a crop necessitates the elaboration of a system of integrated control for other pests of the crop, if any exist. Natural enemies of insect pests include predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. The effect of the green ant, oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera.
Due to their predatory habit oecophylla ants are recognized as biological control agents in tropical tree crops as they are able to protect a variety of crops against many different insect pests van mele, 2008. Nests of the ant oecophylla smaragdina were sold near canton in the 3rd century for use in control of citrus insect pests such as tesseratoma papillosa. Formicidae in relation to abiotic factors and mango cultivars international journal of biological and chemical sciences, 2011. The influence of oecophylla smaragdina fabricius on parasitism of phenacoccus solenopsis tinsley and ferrisia virgata cockerell by aenasius arizonensis girault aenasius bambawalei hayat and a. Weaver ants oecophylla smaragdina as natural pest control in oil palm plantations a highly motivated postgraduate student is sought to join a project exploring how arboreal weaver ants oecophylla smaragdina.
They have traditionally been used in biological control in chinese and southeast asian citrus orchards from at least 400 ad. Ant oecophylla smaragdina, preferences test, biological control and oilpalm plantations pendahuluan semut formicidae. We present evidence for a possible negative effect of oecophylla on the performance of host plants. Pdf enhancing the weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina.
The weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina is an effective biological control agent in pest management which harbours aab as their core. The redbanded thrips, selenothrips rubrocinctus giard, is an economically important insect pest of mango, mangifera indica l. To reduce the use of insecticides, cashew farmers are seeking alternative methods to control pests. The weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina is an aggressive predator of other arthropods and has been employed as a biological control agent against many insect pests in plantations. This work indicates that weaver ants are efficient biocontrol agents of the mango leafhopper, and that it is important to maintain the ants at high. Food preferences and foraging activity of asian weaver ants. It is less well known that the ants can be utilised.
This ant can protect the host plants from attacks of phytophagous insects and therefore has been used for bi. Weaver ants or green ants genus oecophylla are eusocial insects of the family formicidae order hymenoptera. Furthermore, this control may be compatible with habitat manipulations i. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae. The importance of weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina. The control efficacy of the weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina. An approach to reveal the possible underlying mechanisms. Classical biological control has achieved some tremendous successes over the past.
The weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina is an effective biological control agent in pest management which harbours aab as their core microbiota members. Ayenor 2006 showed that the capacity of the ants to suppress capsids was equally effective as the use of the botanical pesticide neem. History and development of biological control notes. Here, we evaluated the effects of the predaceous ant oecophylla smaragdina on three major pests of australian cacao helopeltis spp.
Weaver ants oecophylla smaragdina, hymenoptera have been used for 2000 years for the suppression of insect pests in asian mango and citrus orchards, thus constituting the oldest known example of biological control in agriculture. The weaver ant is a promising biological control agent of a shoot borer, hypsipyla robusta moore, on mahogany, but techniques to conserve ant colonies redistributed to mahogany plantations have not yet been developed. Biological control, or biological pest control, is the reduction of pest populations by using natural enemies. Average yield per tree with and without ant nests was calculated. Microbial community composition reveals spatial variation. Biological control simple english wikipedia, the free. Observations on the ecology of weaver ants oecophylla. In this way they are utilised indirectly as an alternative to chemical insecticides. Pdf the weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina hymenoptera. The asian weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina, is known to have outstanding predatory power.
Applied biological control may be broken down into 3 major. Influence of weaver ant, oecophylla smaragdina fabricius. Oecophylla smaragdina is a species of arboreal ant that makes nests in trees, made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by their larvae. Data from field surveys, observations and longterm monitoring, demonstrated the significant control efficiency of the main species of amblypelta by the ants. It is important because crop pests become resistant to chemical pesticides. However, a number of natural enemies of amblypelta have been identified, and among these, predacious ants, oecophylla smaragdina, can significantly reduce populations of amblypelta. The imperial bureau of entomology created the farnham house laboratory for bc work in england in 1927. The pdf file you selected should load here if your web browser has a pdf reader plugin installed for example, a recent version of adobe acrobat reader if you would like more information about how to print, save, and work with pdfs, highwire press provides a helpful frequently asked questions about pdfs. Biological control agents of weeds include herbivores and plant pathogens. Formicidae, for biological control of a shoot borer, hypsipyla robusta lepidoptera.
The weaver ant oecophylla smaragdina fabricius, 1775 is a hymenopteran belonging to the family of the formicidae. Aug 01, 2014 to reduce the use of insecticides, cashew farmers are seeking alternative methods to control pests. Oecophylla smaragdina, a biological pest control agent attacks its prey with their mandibles followed by ejection of venom. Nests of the ant oecophylla smaragdina were sold near canton in the. Oecophylla smaragdina ants provide pest control in. Oecophylla smaragdina ants provide pest control in australian. Studies using oecophylla smaragdina colonies to control cashew insect pests showed that the introduction of a partial ant colony was more permanent with. In this study, the cultivation and physiological characterization of oecophyllibacter saccharovorans gen. Cashew oecophylla smaragdina was identified as a good candidate as a biological control agent in cashew, controlling the four most important pests. Formicidae, as biocontrol agents on african mahogany trees, khaya senegalensis.