Efficacy of the red imported fire ant in reducing Mexican rice borer severity in sugarcane and non-crop hosts

The first year of a study was conducted in the summer and fall of 2011 to assess the effect of predation by the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Buren), on the invasive Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), infestations in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) fields and non-crop habitats with johnsongrass, Sorghum halepense.  Sugarcane plots at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center in Beaumont, TX were either treated with insecticidal baits to suppress ants or left untreated.  A 50% increase in E. loftini injury expressed as a percentage of bored sugarcane internodes was observed where ants were suppressed.  For non-crop habitats, plots of johnsongrass adjacent to rice fields in Texas were left untreated or treated with insecticidal baits to suppress ants.  E. loftini injury across all treated plots increased over 2-fold when compared to untreated plots.  This data suggests that S. invicta can decrease both pest build-up in sugarcane and plant injury in non-crop habitats.