Castracani, C., Giannetti, D., Spotti, F., Schifani, E., Ghizzoni, M., Delaiti, M., Penner, F., Leonardi, S., Mori, A., Ioriatti, C., & Grasso, D.A. 2022 Ants as mealybug detectors: a novel tool for monitoring Planococcus ficus infestation based on ant behaviour. Agricultural and Forest Entomology DOI: 10.1111/afe.12547
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Notes: We tested whether this trophobiosis can be used as a mealybug monitoring tool, developing a protocol to evaluate infestation on the plants based on ant behaviour (Ant method). We compared this new protocol with the conventional one, consisting in visual counting of vines with mealybugs on infested leaves (Leaf method).The results demonstrated that the Ant method yielded significant advantages over the Leaf method by: (i) allowing to detect VMB infestation on individual plants much earlier; and (ii) allowing to keep track of VMB presence after pest treatments. The Ant method is proposed as a valid complementary tool for integrated pest management in vineyards and its successful achievement encourage searching for further agricultural contexts in which ants may be revaluated as a monitoring tool.
