Publications

combined use of a synthetic trail pheromone and insecticidal bait provides effective control of an invasive ant.	background: except for sex pheromones, use of pheromones in pest management has been largely unexplored. a high concentration of trail pheromone disrupts ant trail following and foraging, and thus synthetic trail pheromone can be a novel control agent for pest ants. in this study, a year-long treatment of small areas (100 m(2) plots of urban house gardens) with synthetic trail pheromone, insecticidal bait or both was conducted to develop a novel control method of the invasive argentine ant linep ...	2011	21520393
morphological organization of the dorsal protuberance of linepithema humile (mayr, 1868) ant's larvae (hymenoptera, formicidae).	the argentine ant linepithema humile is an important invasive species because of the levels of infestation that it can reach; however, there is little information about its presence, histological organization, and function of the dorsal protuberance, which is found exclusively in their larvae. the objective of this study was to describe it in l. humile through scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, bringing information about this structure. the epidermis of these larv ...	2011	21604325
learning and discrimination of cuticular hydrocarbons in a social insect.	social insect cuticular hydrocarbon (chc) mixtures are among the most complex chemical cues known and are important in nest-mate, caste and species recognition. despite our growing knowledge of the nature of these cues, we have very little insight into how social insects actually perceive and discriminate among these chemicals. in this study, we use the newly developed technique of differential olfactory conditioning to pure, custom-designed synthetic colony odours to analyse signal discriminati ...	2011	21831880
Argentine ant trail pheromone disruption is mediated by trail concentration.	Argentine ant trail pheromone disruption, using continuous release of the trail pheromone compound (Z)-9-hexadecanal, reduces the incidence of trails and foraging rates of field populations. However, little is known about the concentrations of pheromone required for successful disruption. We hypothesized that higher pheromone quantities would be necessary to disrupt larger ant populations. To test this, we laid a 30-cm long base trail of (Z)-9-hexadecanal on a glass surface at low and high rates ...	2011	21964852
argentine ant invasion associated with loblolly pines in the southeastern united states: minimal impacts but seasonally sustained.	invasive ants are notorious for directly displacing native ant species. although such impacts are associated with argentine ant invasions (linepithema humile) worldwide, impacts within natural habitat are less widely reported, particularly those affecting arboreal ant communities. argentine ants were detected in north carolina mixed pine-hardwood forest for the first time but were localized on and around loblolly pines (pinus taeda), probably because of association with honeydew-producing hemip ...	2010	22127164
the widespread collapse of an invasive species: argentine ants (linepithema humile) in new zealand.	synergies between invasive species and climate change are widely considered to be a major biodiversity threat. however, invasive species are also hypothesized to be susceptible to population collapse, as we demonstrate for a globally important invasive species in new zealand. we observed argentine ant populations to have collapsed in 40 per cent of surveyed sites. populations had a mean survival time of 14.1 years (95% ci = 12.9-15.3 years). resident ant communities had recovered or partly recov ...	2011	22130172
the argentine ant persists through unfavorable winters via a mutualism facilitated by a native tree.	mutualisms and facilitations can fundamentally change the relationship between an organism's realized and fundamental niche. invasive species may prove particularly suitable models for investigating this relationship as many are dependent on finding new partners for successful establishment. we conducted field-based experiments testing whether a native tree facilitates the successful survival of the invasive argentine ant, linepithema humile (mayr), through unfavorable winter conditions in the ...	2011	22251714
a silica gel based method for extracting insect surface hydrocarbons.	here, we describe a novel method for the extraction of insect cuticular hydrocarbons using silica gel, herein referred to as "silica-rubbing". this method permits the selective sampling of external hydrocarbons from insect cuticle surfaces for subsequent analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms). the cuticular hydrocarbons are first adsorbed to silica gel particles by rubbing the cuticle of insect specimens with the materials, and then are subsequently eluted using organic solv ...	2012	22327277
population growth of aphis gossypii and myzus persicae (hemiptera: aphididae) in the presence of linepithema humile and tapinoma sessile (hymenoptera: formicidae).	invasive ant species can have dramatic impacts on native ants, through direct predation and by usurping common resources. most invasive ants and many native ants use honeydew, produced by phloem-sucking hemipterans. because colonies of invasive ants can become very large after establishment, these ants may facilitate greater hemipteran trophobiont population growth compared with their sympatric native ant counterparts. we examined the population growth of an aphid mutualist, aphis gossypii, and ...	2010	22546444
a common rule for decision making in animal collectives across species.	a diversity of decision-making systems has been observed in animal collectives. in some species, choices depend on the differences of the numbers of animals that have chosen each of the available options, whereas in other species on the relative differences (a behavior known as weber's law), or follow more complex rules. we here show that this diversity of decision systems corresponds to a single rule of decision making in collectives. we first obtained a decision rule based on bayesian estimati ...	2012	23197836
competition between honeydew producers in an ant-hemipteran interaction may enhance biological control of an invasive pest.	asian citrus psyllid, diaphorina citri kuwayama (hemiptera: liviidae), is an invasive citrus pest in southern california, which secretes honeydew and has the potential to spread a lethal bacterial disease, huanglongbing, of citrus. in urban citrus, argentine ant, linepithema humile (mayr) (hymenoptera: formicidae), also an invasive pest, tends honeydew-producing hemipterans. we used field data to determine whether the mutualistic relationship between l. humile and six established species of hone ...	2013	23941659
vitellogenin underwent subfunctionalization to acquire caste and behavioral specific expression in the harvester ant pogonomyrmex barbatus.	the reproductive ground plan hypothesis (rgph) proposes that the physiological pathways regulating reproduction were co-opted to regulate worker division of labor. support for this hypothesis in honeybees is provided by studies demonstrating that the reproductive potential of workers, assessed by the levels of vitellogenin (vg), is linked to task performance. interestingly, contrary to honeybees that have a single vg ortholog and potentially fertile nurses, the genome of the harvester ant pogono ...	2013	23966882
influence of weeds on argentine ant (hymenoptera: formicidae) and obscure mealybug (hemiptera: pseudococcidae) in a central california vineyard.	obscure mealybug is a pest of grapes in the cool climate regions of coastal california, is found on some vineyard weeds, and is tended by the argentine ant. a study was conducted at a vineyard in arroyo grande, ca, to evaluate the impact of weeds on ant activity on grapevines, and the role that ants and weeds have on obscure mealybug infestation in grape clusters. the incidence of the fungus botrytis cinerea was recorded as well. treatments were weed exclusion versus the presence of weeds, and a ...	2014	25026682
a comparison of two parasitoids (hymenoptera: encyrtidae) of the vine mealybug: rapid, non-discriminatory oviposition is favored when ants tend the host.	the encyrtid parasitoids coccidoxenoides perminutus girault and anagyrus nr. sp. pseudococci (girault) were compared in the laboratory as parasitoids of the mealybug planococcus ficus (signoret). female c. perminutus preferred second-instar p. ficus for oviposition, and produced more adult offspring (149.3 per female) than a. nr. sp. pseudococci (54.1 per female). the development time, from egg to adult emergence, of c. perminutus decreased with increasing constant temperatures between 18.5 and ...	2014	25182618
plant-derived differences in the composition of aphid honeydew and their effects on colonies of aphid-tending ants.	in plant-ant-hemipteran interactions, ants visit plants to consume the honeydew produced by phloem-feeding hemipterans. if genetically based differences in plant phloem chemistry change the chemical composition of hemipteran honeydew, then the plant's genetic constitution could have indirect effects on ants via the hemipterans. if such effects change ant behavior, they could feed back to affect the plant itself. we compared the chemical composition of honeydews produced by aphis nerii aphid clon ...	2014	25505534
floral visitation by the argentine ant reduces bee visitation and plant seed set.	ants often visit flowers, but have only seldom been documented to provide effective pollination services. floral visitation by ants can also compromise plant reproduction in situations where ants interfere with more effective pollinators. introduced ants may be especially likely to reduce plant reproductive success through floral visitation, but existing experimental studies have found little support for this hypothesis. here, we combine experimental and observational approaches to examine the i ...	2015	26236907
diversification of the ant odorant receptor gene family and positive selection on candidate cuticular hydrocarbon receptors.	chemical communication plays important roles in the social behavior of ants making them one of the most successful groups of animals on earth. however, the molecular evolutionary process responsible for their chemosensory adaptation is still elusive. recent advances in genomic studies have led to the identification of large odorant receptor (or) gene repertoires from ant genomes providing fruitful materials for molecular evolution analysis. the aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that d ...	2015	26306879
invasive ants carry novel viruses in their new range and form reservoirs for a honeybee pathogen.	when exotic animal species invade new environments they also bring an often unknown microbial diversity, including pathogens. we describe a novel and widely distributed virus in one of the most globally widespread, abundant and damaging invasive ants (argentine ants, linepithema humile). the linepithema humile virus 1 is a dicistrovirus, a viral family including species known to cause widespread arthropod disease. it was detected in samples from argentina, australia and new zealand. argentine an ...	2015	26562935
honey bees avoiding ant harassment at flowers using scent cues.	pollinators require resources throughout the year to maintain healthy populations. along the urban-natural interface, floral resource availability may be limited especially when the system experiences extreme drought and fire threats. in such areas, succulents, such as aloe spp., are commonly planted to serve as functional drought-tolerant, fire-protective landscaping, which can also support pollinator populations. however, access to this resource may be restricted by competition from other flor ...	2016	26834187
multi-trophic consequences of plant genetic variation in sex and growth.	there is growing evidence for the influence of plant intraspecific variation on associated multi-trophic communities, but the traits driving such effects are largely unknown. we conducted a field experiment with selected genetic lines of the dioecious shrub baceharis salicifolia to investigate the effects of plant growth rate (two-fold variation) and gender (males vs. females of the same growth rate) on above- and belowground insect and fungal associates. we documented variation in associate den ...	2016	27197400