Habitat Associations of Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta) and Introduced Populations of Pseudacteon spp. Phorid Flies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v59i4.585Keywords:
Solenopsis, Pseudacteon curvatus, Pseudacteon tricuspis, Invasive Species, Biological ControlAbstract
Habitat selection is one of many aspects of red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, (RIFA) that has been intensively studied since their initial introduction in the United States. Concurrently, innumerable studies have attempted to identify effective chemical insecticides for RIFA control. More recently, several species of Pseudacteon spp. phorid flies (Diptera: Phoridae) have been intensively evaluated to determine their potential utility in biologica control of RIFA. These flies belong to a suite of natural enemies of RIFA in their native South American range, and have been selected for release in the United States as biological control agents against RIFA. It is hypothesized that phorid flies, through parasitism and suppression of RIFA foraging, will provide measureable RIFA population suppression as phorid ranges expand and fly densities increase. Relatively little scientific attention has been paid to habitat selection and partitioning by these flies in their introduced range(s) in the US. We assessed RIFA and phorid (Pseudacteon curvatus and Pseudacteon tricuspis) densities in four central Texas habitats. The habitat types selected represent a continuum of habitat diversity, micro-habitat availability, and plant heterogeneity. Within the habitat types studied, RIFA mound densitieswere significantly different, but foraging intensity was not significantly different in three of four habitat types. Population densities of P. curvatus were determined to be significantly higher in one habitat than all others. Alternatively, P. tricuspis densities followed a trend within the surveyed habitats that correlated with RIFA densities observed in this study. These data imply that the successful release, establishment, and range expansion of P. curvatus may require a greater degree of critical consideration regarding the ecologyof each system into which they are released, as opposed to P. tricuspis. These implications also suggest that the successful establishment of additional phorid species in the US should take into consideration the habitat matrix and habitat-based expansion corridors available to the flies.
Downloads
References
Allen, H.R., S.M. Valles, and D.M. Miller. 2010. Characterization of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) populations in Virginia: Social form genotyping and pathogen/parasitoid detection. Fla Entomol. 93(1):80-88.
Callcott A-M A, Porter SD, Weeks Jr. RD, Graham LC, Johnson SJ, Gilbert LE. 2011. Fire ant decapitating fly cooperative release programs (1994-2008): Two Pseudacteon species, P. tricuspis and P. curvatus, rapidly expand across imported fire ant populations in the southeastern United States. Insect Sci. 11:19 available online: insectscience. org/11.19.
Calceterra, L.A., S.D. Porter, and J.A. Briano. 2005. Distribution and abundance of fire ant decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae: Pseudacteon), in three regions of southern South America. Ann Entomol Soc of Am. 98:85-95.
Campiolo S, Pesquero M.A., Fowler H.G. 1994. Size-selective oviposition by phorid (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitoids on workers of the fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Etol. 4: 85-86.
Consoli, F.L., C.T. Wuellner, S.B. Vinson, and L.E. Gilbert. 2001. Immature development of Pseudacteon tricuspis (Diptera: Phoridae), an endoparasitoid of the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). An Entomol Soc Am. 94:97-109.
ESRI 2011. ArcGIS Desktop: Release 10. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute.
Feener, D.H., Jr. 1981. Competition between species: outcome controlled by parasitic flies. Science. 214:815-817.
Feener, D.H, Jr. and B.V. Brown. 1992. Reduced foraging of Solenopsis geminate (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the presence of parasitic Pseudacteon spp. (Diptera: Phoridae). An Entomol Soc Am. 85: 80-84.
Folgarait, P.J., and L.E. Gilbert. 1999. Phorid parasitoids affect foraging activity of Solenopsis richteri under different availability of food in Argentina. Ecol Entomol. 24:163-173.
DeveloPMental rates and host specificity for Pseudacteon parasitoids (Diptera: Phoridae) of fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Argentina. Econ Entomol. 95:1151-1158.
Folgarait, P.J., O.A. Bruzzone, and L.E. Gilbert. 2003. Seasonal patterns of activity among species of black fire ant parasitoid flies (Pseudacteon: Phoridae) in Argentina explained by analysis of climatic variables. Biol Control. 28:368-378.
Fowler HG, Pesquero MA, Campiolo S, Porter SD. 1995. Seasonal activity of species of Pseudacteon (Diptera: Phoridae) parasitoids of fire ants (Solenopsis saevissima) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Brazil. Científica, Saõ Paulo 23: 367-371.
Gilbert, L.E., C.L. Barr, A.A. Calixto, J.L. Cook, B.M. Drees, E.G. Lebrun, R.J.W. Patrock, R.M. Plowes, S.D. Porter, and R.T. Puckett. 2008. Introducing phorid fly parasitoids of red imported fire ant workers from South America to Texas: Outcomes vary by region and by Pseudacteon species released. Southwest Entomol. 33;15-29.
Graham, L.C., S.D. Porter, R.M. Pereira, H.D. Dorough, A.T. Kelley. 2003. Field releases of the decapitating fly Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) for control of imported fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. Fla Entomol. 86:334-339.
IBM Corp. Released 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Lofgren, C.S. 1986. The economic importance and control of imported fire ants in the United States, pp. 227-255. In Vinson, S.B. (ed.), Economic impact and control of social insects. Praeger, New York.
Macom, T.E. and S.D. Porter. 1996. Comparison of monogyne and polygyne red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) population densities. An Entomol Soc Am. 89:535-543.
Morrison, L.W., C.G. Dall’Agilo-Holvorcem, L.E. Gilbert. 1997. Oviposition behavior and development of Pseudacteon flies (Diptera: Phoridae), parasitoids of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Environ Entomol. 26:716-724.
Morrison, L.W. 2000. Mechanisms of Pseudacteon parasitoid (Diptera: Phoridae) effects on exploitative and interference competition in host Solenopsis ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). An Entomol Soc Am. 93: 841-849.
Morrison, L.W., S.D. Porter, E. Daniels, and M.D. Korzukhin. 2004. Potential global range expansion of the invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Biol Invasions. 6:183-191.
Oi, D.H., and S.M. Valles. 2011. Host specificity testing of the Solenopsis fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) pathogen, Kneallhazia (=Thelohania) solenopae (Microsporidia: Thelohaniidae), in Florida. Fla. Entomol. 95(2):509-512.
Olson, D.M., E.D. Dinerstein, E.D. Wikramanayake, N.D. Burgess, G.V.N. Powell, E.C. Underwood, J.A. D’amico, I. Itoua, H.E. Strand, J.C. Morrison, C.J. Loucks, T.F. Allnutt, T. H. Ricketts, Y. Kura, J.F. Lamoreux, W.W. Wettengel, P. Hedao, and K.R. Kassem. 2001. Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth. BioScience. 51(11):933-938.
Orr, M.R., D.L. Dahlsten and W.W. Benson. 2003. Ecological interactions among ants in the genus Linepithema, their phorid parasitoids, and ant competitors. Ecol Entomol. 28: 203-210.
Pereira, R. 2003. Areawide suppression of fire ant populations in pastures: project update. J. Agr. Urban Entomol. 3:123-130.
Pesquero, M.A., S. Campiolo, H.G. Fowler and S.D. Porter. 1996. Diurnal patterns of ovipositional activity in two Pseudacteon fly parasitoids (Diptera: Phoridae) of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Forimicidae). Fla Entomol. 79: 455-457.
Plowes, R.M., E.G. Lebrun, and L.E. Gilbert. 2011. Introduction of the fire ant decapitating fly Pseudacteon obtusus in the United States: factors influencing establishment in Texas. BioCont. 56:295-304.
Porter, S.D., H.G. Fowler and W.P MacKay. 1992. Fire ant mound densities in the United States and Brazil (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Econ Entomol. 85: 1154-1161.
Porter, S.D. 1998. Biology and behavior of Pseudacteon decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae) that parasitize Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Fla Entomol. 81(3):292- 309.
Porter, S.D., and M.A. Pesquero. 2001. Illustrated key to Pseudacteon decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae) that attack Solenopsis saevissima complex fire ants in South America. Fla Entomol. 84(4):691-699.
Porter, S.D., L.A. Nogueira, and L.W. Morrison. 2004. Establishment and dispersal of the fire ant decapitating fly Pseudacteon tricuspis in North Florida. Biol Control. 29:179- 188.
Puckett, R.T., A. Calixto, C.L. Barr, and M.K. Harris. 2007. Sticky traps for monitoring Pseudacteon parasitoids of Solenopsis fire ants. Environ Entomol. 36:584-588.
Vander Meer, R. K., Pereira, R. M., Porter, S. D., Valles, S. M. & Oi, D. H. 2007. Areawide suppression of invasive fire ant populations. Proceedings of the International Conference on Area-Wide Control of Insect Pests, IAEA 2005.
Vinson, S.B. 1997. Invasion of the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) spread, biology, and impact. Am Entomol. 43:23-39.
Vogt, J.T. and D.A. Street. 2003. Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) laboratory parasitism, release and establishment in Mississippi. J. Entomol Sci. 38: 317-320.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).