Ants as egg predators of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Australian cotton crops |
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| Authors: | Sarah Mansfield Natalie V Elias James A Lytton-Hitchins |
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| Affiliation: | Australian Cotton CRC, CSIRO Entomology, Locked Bag 59, Narrabri, NSW 2390, Australia.;Australian Cotton CRC, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. |
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| Abstract: | Abstract Helicoverpa armigera is a major pest of Australian cotton crops. To assess the impact of ant predation on H. armigera populations, the behaviour of four common ant taxa was observed in cotton crops in northern New South Wales over the 1999−2000 and 2001−02 seasons. Areas of cotton were artificially stocked with H. armigera eggs prior to observation. Pheidole spp. were the most frequently observed ants within the crop canopy in 1999−2000 and took the most H. armigera eggs. Iridomyrmex spp. were more frequently observed than Pheidole spp. in 2001−02 and also took some H. armigera eggs. Neither Paratrechina spp. nor Rhytidoponera metallica (Smith) took any H. armigera eggs, although both were seen in the crop canopy. Irrigation, cultivation and insecticide application disrupted foraging ants and limited their impact on H. armigera populations. |
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| Keywords: | Formicidae foraging behaviour biological control Iridomyrmex Pheidole |
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