The effect of bait air broadcasting by unmanned aerial vehicles on the ant community diversity

To explore the control effect of bait broadcasting by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta and evaluate its impact on biodiversity, we tested the drop flow rate and broadcasting evenness of fire ant baits with bait exit hatch sizes, as well as the dynamics of fire ants and other ants when different amounts of bait were used. The amount of bait applied per hectare was 6000–15,000 g in orchards. Fourteen days after broadcasting, the control effect of broadcasting 12,000 g and 15,000 g bait per hectare on active mounds and workers reached 90%, which was significantly higher than that achieved with 6000 g and 9000 g. After the application of bait, the number and species of other ants decreased and then increased; this was reflected in changes in the Shannon–Wiener index (H′), Pielou evenness index (E) and Simpson dominance index (C). The results of this study suggest that broadcasting bait by UAVs can achieve good control of S. invicta, and a reduction in native ant diversity can be achieved in the short term.