Myrmecol. News 34: 173-80
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.25849/myrmecol.news_034:173
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Title: Introducing 3D-printed oak galls as artificial nests for arboreal ants, with first results on leaf damage reduction on olive trees
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 173-180
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Abstract:
Gall formation in plants often imposes physiological costs from which secondary colonizers may benefit. Oak galls induced by Andricus wasps are later colonized by arboreal-nesting ants that may provide a service to the plant in an - thropogenic environments. Trees in these environments frequently lack appropriate structures or deadwood to host arboreal-nesting ants. We constructed artificial galls of Andricus quercustozae using 3D printing and biomaterials to determine whether ants would colonize these structures and then tested whether colonization rates differed between natural and urban environments. We recorded a high colonization rate (> 90%) by five different ant species and found that leaf damage caused by Otiorhynchus weevil beetles and the leaf miner Dasineura oleae in agricultural olive trees equipped with artificial galls and colonized by the acrobat ant, Crematogaster scutellaris, was significantly less than in olive trees without ants. Hence, the use of artificial oak galls to promote ant colonization may represent a significant tool for agricultural pest management.
- Key words: Hymenoptera, Formicidae, biostructures, artificial gall, new technology, Andricus quercustozae.
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 34: 173-180 , Supplement
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 34: 173-180, Video S1
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500
Myrmecol. News 34: 173-180 , Video S2
- Open Access: CC BY 4.0
- Year: 2024
- Journal: Myrmecological News
- Volume: 34
- Pages: 71-79
- Type of contribution: Original Article
- Supplementary material: Yes
- Key words:
Division of labor, brood, chemical communication, larvae, cuticular hydrocarbons, behavioral decisions
- Publisher: The Austrian Society of Entomofaunistics
- ISSN: 1997-3500