Essential Balm: A Strong Repellent Against Foraging and Defending Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
In the present study, the repellent effects of essential balm, a traditional medicine product in China, was tested against foraging and defending red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, under laboratory and field conditions. The laboratory study showed that both band- (width = 1 cm) and patch-smearing of essential balm at each concentration (0.5, 1, or 2 μl/cm(2)) significantly decreased the number of S. invicta foragers within the 6-h observation period. Moreover, band-smearing of 2 μl/cm(2) essential balm and patch-smearing of 0.5, 1, and 2 μl/cm(2) essential balm inhibited most S. invicta foraging activity at 3, 6, 6, and 24 h into the experiment, respectively. The field study showed that after a disturbance was created on the S. invicta mound, there were significantly less defending ants on the substance treated (patch-smeared) with 0.5, 1, and 2 μl/cm(2) essential balm than the controls, but the number of ants on the substance of these three concentrations was similar. Our study suggested that essential balm is a strong repellent against foraging and defending S. invicta and could be applied when temporary protection from S. invicta is needed.
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Yuzhen
Y
Wen
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Tao
T
Ma
Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (chenxuan1128@gmail.com; rstrecker@agcenter.lsu.edu; GRHenderson@agcenter.lsu.edu).
Xuan
X
Chen
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Zhitao
Z
Liu
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Chengqi
C
Zhu
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Yuanyuan
Y
Zhang
Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (chenxuan1128@gmail.com; rstrecker@agcenter.lsu.edu; GRHenderson@agcenter.lsu.edu).
Rachel
R
Strecker
Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (chenxuan1128@gmail.com; rstrecker@agcenter.lsu.edu; GRHenderson@agcenter.lsu.edu).
Gregg
G
Henderson
Department of Environmental Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (lindabui@lsu.edu), and.
Linda M
LM
Hooper-Bùi
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Xiaoyang
X
Chen
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Zhaohui
Z
Sun
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn).
Xiujun
X
Wen
Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China(wenyuzhen@stu.scau.edu.cn; matao2060@163.com; 907296413@qq.com; 18868803881@163.com; 1551977342@qq.com; xychen@scau.edu.cn; 1469633429@qq.com; wenxiujun@scau.edu.cn; wangcai@scau.edu.cn), wangcai@scau.edu.cn.
Cai
C
Wang
D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants; D007300:Insect Control; D007302:Insect Repellents; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D009822:Oils, Volatile
D007302:Insect Repellents; D009822:Oils, Volatile
Fengyoujing; Solenopsis invicta; essential balm; repellent