Intraguild Predation of Beneficial Arthropods by Red Imported Fire Ants in Cotton

By M. Eubanks, Stuart A. Blackwell, C. Parrish, Z. Delamar, Helen Hull-Sanders. 2002

110 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Buren), is an invasive species in the southern United States and is expanding its range westward to California and eastward up the Atlantic Coast. This voracious predator can reach extremely high densities and have widespread effects once it invades an ecosystem. We conducted a 2-yr sampling study and a series of greenhouse and field experiments to document the impact of red imported fire ants on beneficial insects in cotton. We found that the densities of 12 of 13 natural enemies sampled on cotton plants in 1999, and 8 out of 8 sampled in 2000, were negatively correlated with the densities of foraging fire ant workers. Red imported fire ants reduced the survival of lady beetles (Coccinella septempunctata L., and Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) by 50% and green lacewing larvae (Chrysoperla carnea Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) by 38% in greenhouse experiments. Fire ants did not, however, reduce the survival of spiders (Oxyopidae, Thomisidae, and Clubionidae). We used a commercially available fire ant bait to suppress fire ant populations in cotton fields during the 2000 growing season and compared the densities of beneficial arthropods in treated versus control fields. Densities of lady beetles, spiders, and big-eyed bugs (Heteroptera: Geocoridae) were significantly higher in fields with suppressed fire ant populations than in fields with relatively large fire ant populations. The effect of fire ants on minute pirate bugs (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) was inconsistent, and populations of damsel bugs (Heteroptera: Nabidae) and hooded beetles (Coleoptera: Anthicidae) were not affected by fire ant suppression. The results of this study suggest that red imported fire ants are major intraguild predators of important beneficial arthropods in cotton.

Subfields: Genetics, Insect Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b5a93b140a112c586c058200d5ce096fc6ea86bd

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In Genetics

1. I. Kaplan
2. J. Bronstein
3. J. Ness
4. M. Eubanks
5. Alain Roques
6. M. Cock
7. Josef Settele
8. C. Péré

In Insect Science

1. I. Kaplan
2. J. Bronstein
3. J. Ness
4. M. Eubanks
5. Alain Roques
6. M. Cock
7. Josef Settele
8. C. Péré

Citations in the corpus

• The Effects of Invasive Ants on Prospective Ant Mutualists (2004, background): “These compositional changes commonly occur as a result of ant invasions (Human and Gordon 1997; Hoffman et al. 1999; Eubanks et al. 2002), and may be largely uncoupled from any food rewards offered by prospective mutualists in invaded habitats.”
• Disruption of Cotton Aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae)—Natural Enemy Dynamics by Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (2002, background): “Consequently, Þre ants often dominate and severely alter arthropod food webdynamics in agroecosystems (Whitcombet al. 1972, Lofgren et al. 1975, Eubanks 2001, Eubanks et al. 2002 ).”
• APHIDS ALTER THE COMMUNITY‐WIDE IMPACT OF FIRE ANTS (2005, background): “We manipulated fire ant abundances in several crops and recorded relatively weak effects of fire ants on arthropods in soybean and collards, but a comparatively strong impact of fire ants in cotton (Eubanks 2001, Eubanks et al. 2002, Harvey and Eubanks 2004; M. Eubanks, unpublished data).”
• Ecological effects of invasive alien insects (2008, background): “It also attacks beneficial insects such as parasitoids and predators (Eubanks et al. 2002; Ness 2003).”