For non-repellent insecticides to be effective against large pest ant populations, the chemical must be moved from exposed foragers to other ants in the colony.
We investigated factors influencing the movement of insecticides from the corpses of treated individuals to untreated nestmates. This is a potentially important method of exposure because ants fastidiously remove corpses from the nest area, either by eating the dead or by dragging them from the nest. Both of these habits introduce the potential for transfer of insecticide residue from the corpses to live ants.
The potential for exposure by moving dead bodies is determined in part by the non-repellency of the chemical to the particular species, the proportion of individuals coming in contact with the chemical, and temperature, which influences activity. Laboratory assays were conducted to determine how these three factors affect the mortality of untreated individuals.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Formicidae Linepithema humile (Argentine ant)
Keywords: ant control, non-repellent insecticides
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