Correa, P., Wäckers, F., Brévault, T., Bouvery, F., Detrain, C., & Chailleux, A. 2022 Sugar feeders reduce weaver ants’ drawbacks when used as biological control agents in mango orchards. Biological Control doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.105103
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Notes: The African weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an effective biocontrol agent of pests, particularly Bactrocera dorsalis fruit flies in mango orchards in West Africa, is a good example of such inconveniences. We here explored whether manipulating their behavior by providing sugar feeders on trees would (i) alter their mutualistic relationships with scale insects, thereby reducing the incidence of this pest, (ii) decrease nest abundance often considered by farmers to reduce foliage development, and (iii) reduce their aggressiveness.
