INVESTIGADORES
CALCATERRA Luis Alberto
artículos
Título:
Abundance of the parasitic ant Solenopsis daguerrei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in South America, a potential candidate for the biological control of the red imported fire ant in the United States
Autor/es:
BRIANO, J.A.; CALCATERRA, L.A.; WOJCIK, D.P.; WILLIAMS, D.F.; BANKS, W.A.; AND PATTERSON, R.S.
Revista:
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
Editorial:
ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC AMER
Referencias:
Año: 1997 vol. 26 p. 1143 - 1148
ISSN:
0046-225X
Resumen:
Abundance of the workerless parasitic ant Solenopsis daguerrei (Santschi) in fire ant populations was surveyed in southern and southwestern Brazil, eastern, central, and northern Argentina, western and northern Uruguay, central Paraguay, and Bolivia from 1974 to 1996. A total of 12,180 fire ant colonies was sampled from 726 collecting sites for the presence of adults or queens, or both, of the parasitic ant. The presence of the parasite in fire ant colonies within the area surveyed was very low. In Argentina, S. daguerrei occurred in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and Entre Rios, in 1.4-7.0% of the colonies. In Brazil, the areas of Dourados, Campo Grande, and Rochedo, Mato Grosso do Sul contained 1-6.2% of parasitized colonies. In Uruguay, <1% of the colonies were parasitized. The parasite was not found in Paraguay and Bolivia. A new host (S. macdonaghi Santschi) is reported for S. daguerrei. The field site with the highest presence of S. daguerrei (7%) was selected in Buenos Aires province for ecological studies. The low presence in its native areas should not discourage the potential use of this parasite as a biological control agent of imported fire ants in the United States.