title: Development of Liquid Bait With Unique Bait Station for Control of Dolichoderus thoracicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
abstract: The Dolichoderus thoracicus (Smith) has seriously infested urban, village, and agricultural environments in Taiwan. To develop optimal bait for the effective control of D. thoracicus, we investigated the feeding preferences of this ant at different sugar and amino acid concentrations in a laboratory setting. The number of feeding workers was significantly higher for 20% sucrose compared with that for other sugars at 10% and 20% concentrations. Furthermore, among all tested concentrations of monosodium glutamate (MSG; 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10%), the highest number of ants were attracted by 1% MSG with 20% sucrose. The consumption of each bait solution was also measured, and the results were similar to those for ant number. Regarding toxicants, the toxicity and repellency of 3% boric acid and borax bait were evaluated individually. Both 3% boric acid and borax demonstrated no repellency against D. thoracicus workers. The LT50 of the 3% boric acid bait was 4.87 d, whereas that of 3% borax bait was only 1.56 d. Thus, 3% boric acid showed further delayed action, facilitating workers spreading the toxicant to their nestmates through trophallaxis. In combination with our unique bait station, we propose an optimal bait formulation comprising 20% sucrose, 1% MSG, and 3% boric acid as a promising candidate for controlling D. thoracicus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Chi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsai-Wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Han
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Po-Cheng
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001881:Borates; D001888:Boric Acids; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D005520:Food Preservatives / Q000378:metabolism; D007300:Insect Control / Q000295:instrumentation; D007306:Insecticides; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D001881:Borates; D001888:Boric Acids; D005520:Food Preservatives; D007306:Insecticides; D010675:Pheromones; C010411:insect attractants; C018851:borax; D009584:Nitrogen; C032688:boric acid
keywords: Dolichoderus thoracicus; bait; boric acid; feeding preference; pest ant