Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus
Background: Delottococcus aberiae is an invasive mealybug that produces severe damage in Spanish citrus. This mealybug has established a mutualistic relationship with native Mediterranean ant species that may limit biological control of this pest. Herein, we evaluated the effect of tending ants on t...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Wiley Online Library
2023
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8601 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ps.7380 |
| _version_ | 1855492521957785600 |
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| author | Plata, Ángel Gómez-Martínez, María A. Beitia, Francisco J. Tena, Alejandro |
| author_browse | Beitia, Francisco J. Gómez-Martínez, María A. Plata, Ángel Tena, Alejandro |
| author_facet | Plata, Ángel Gómez-Martínez, María A. Beitia, Francisco J. Tena, Alejandro |
| author_sort | Plata, Ángel |
| collection | ReDivia |
| description | Background: Delottococcus aberiae is an invasive mealybug that produces severe damage in Spanish citrus. This mealybug has established a mutualistic relationship with native Mediterranean ant species that may limit biological control of this pest. Herein, we evaluated the effect of tending ants on the biological control of D. aberiae. To do this, we compared: (I) the density of D. aberiae, (II) the density of its natural enemies, and (III) the damage produced by the mealybug in trees with (control) and without ants (ants excluded with sticky barriers) in two citrus orchards across two consecutive years. Results: Lasius grandis was the most abundant ant species in both orchards and represented more than 95% of the ants tending D. aberiae in control trees. Spiders and lacewings were the most abundant predators observed in mealybug colonies, and the exclusion of mutualistic ants increased their abundance. Moreover, in control trees, ant activity throughout the year was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of predators (number of predators per mealybug). No parasitoids were recovered during field experiments. Ant exclusion reduced the density of D. aberiae and the ratio of damaged fruit at harvest across years and orchards. Conclusions: This work corroborates the previous finding that D. aberiae benefits from its mutualistic relationship with L. grandis, probably because the presence of ants reduced the abundance of generalist predators. This mutualism can be disrupted using physical barriers on the trunk. Further research should assess other methods of ant control that are more economic and feasible for citrus producers. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | ReDivia8601 |
| institution | Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Wiley Online Library |
| publisherStr | Wiley Online Library |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ReDivia86012025-04-25T14:49:08Z Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus Plata, Ángel Gómez-Martínez, María A. Beitia, Francisco J. Tena, Alejandro Ant-attendance Ant-exclusion Lasius grandis Delottococcus aberiae Mutualism Mediterranean ants Physical barriers H10 Pests of plants H01 Protection of plants - General aspects U10 Mathematical and statistical methods U40 Surveying methods Hemiptera Honeydew Biological control Citrus Background: Delottococcus aberiae is an invasive mealybug that produces severe damage in Spanish citrus. This mealybug has established a mutualistic relationship with native Mediterranean ant species that may limit biological control of this pest. Herein, we evaluated the effect of tending ants on the biological control of D. aberiae. To do this, we compared: (I) the density of D. aberiae, (II) the density of its natural enemies, and (III) the damage produced by the mealybug in trees with (control) and without ants (ants excluded with sticky barriers) in two citrus orchards across two consecutive years. Results: Lasius grandis was the most abundant ant species in both orchards and represented more than 95% of the ants tending D. aberiae in control trees. Spiders and lacewings were the most abundant predators observed in mealybug colonies, and the exclusion of mutualistic ants increased their abundance. Moreover, in control trees, ant activity throughout the year was negatively correlated with the relative abundance of predators (number of predators per mealybug). No parasitoids were recovered during field experiments. Ant exclusion reduced the density of D. aberiae and the ratio of damaged fruit at harvest across years and orchards. Conclusions: This work corroborates the previous finding that D. aberiae benefits from its mutualistic relationship with L. grandis, probably because the presence of ants reduced the abundance of generalist predators. This mutualism can be disrupted using physical barriers on the trunk. Further research should assess other methods of ant control that are more economic and feasible for citrus producers. 2023-04-05T11:11:28Z 2023-04-05T11:11:28Z 2023 article acceptedVersion Plata, Á., Gómez‐Martínez, M. A., Beitia, F. J. & Tena, A. (2023). Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus. Pest Management Science. Published on-line [24 January 2023], 1-10. 1526-498X (eISSN) 1526-4998 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8601 10.1002/ps.7380 10.58582/redivia.8477 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ps.7380 en This research was supported by the predoctoral grant PRE2018-083714 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the national project RTA2017-00095 provided by INIA. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MINECO/Programa estatal de i+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad/RTA2017-00095-00-00/ES/Mejora de la gestión integrada de pseudocóccidos en cítricos y caqui Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ openAccess Wiley Online Library electronico |
| spellingShingle | Ant-attendance Ant-exclusion Lasius grandis Delottococcus aberiae Mutualism Mediterranean ants Physical barriers H10 Pests of plants H01 Protection of plants - General aspects U10 Mathematical and statistical methods U40 Surveying methods Hemiptera Honeydew Biological control Citrus Plata, Ángel Gómez-Martínez, María A. Beitia, Francisco J. Tena, Alejandro Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title | Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title_full | Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title_fullStr | Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title_short | Exclusion of Mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug Delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| title_sort | exclusion of mediterranean ant species enhances biological control of the invasive mealybug delottococcus aberiae in citrus |
| topic | Ant-attendance Ant-exclusion Lasius grandis Delottococcus aberiae Mutualism Mediterranean ants Physical barriers H10 Pests of plants H01 Protection of plants - General aspects U10 Mathematical and statistical methods U40 Surveying methods Hemiptera Honeydew Biological control Citrus |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8601 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ps.7380 |
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