Beltrá, A., Navarro-Campos, C., Calabuig, A., Estopà, L., Wäckers, F.L., Pekas, A.N., & Soto, A. 2017 Association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the vine mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in table-grape vineyards in Eastern Spain. Pest Management Science 73(12): 2473-2480
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Notes: We conducted a study in four commercial vineyards in Eastern Spain in order to i) identify the ant species foraging on the vine canopies, ii) study the association among ant activity, vine mealybug abundance and fruit damage, and iii) test a novel method for ant management, distracting ants from guarding vine mealybugs by providing sugar dispensers. Our results suggest that the ant species native to vineyards in eastern Spain induce population increases of the vine mealybug. Moreover, the provisioning of sugars can be a valuable tool for ant management andmealybug control.
