Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T18:37:37.684Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Relationship between certain Ant Species with particular Reference to Biological Control of the Coreid, Theraptus sp.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

M. J. Way
M. J. Way
Affiliation:
Clove Research Scheme, Zanzibar*.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In the coastal region of British East Africa three ant species, Anoplolepis custodiens, A. longipes and Pheidole punctulata may destroy the ant Oecophylla longinoda which is a valuable predator on the coconut pest Theraptus sp. (Coreidae). The three first-named species do not prey on Theraptus, which may severely damage palms occupied by them.

Nesting habits of the three ant species and their behaviour towards O. longinoda and certain other insects are described.

O. longinoda has been exterminated in the limited areas occupied by the two Anoplolepis species. P. punctulata is widespread and is usually common in areas occupied by O. longinoda and is also present, though relatively less common, in A. longipes areas.

The distribution of the Anoplolepis species, particularly A. custodiens, is correlated with sandy soils bearing a sparse ground vegetation. Where there are heavy soils or a thick ground vegetation of grasses and creepers the Anoplolepis species are absent and O. longinoda is usually present. It is suggested that the Anoplolepis species are limited by the relatively low temperature of soils shaded from sunlight by thick vegetation.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , December 1953 , pp. 669 - 691
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1953

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Calton, W. E. (1949). A reconnaissance of the soils of Zanzibar Protectorate.—Tech. Commun. Bur. Soil Sci. no. 46.Google Scholar
Carter, W. (1933). The Pineapple Mealybug Pseudococcus brevipes, and wilt of pineapples.—Phytopathology 23, pp. 207–242.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, T. W. (1927). The Common Coffee Mealybug (Pseudococcus lilacinus, Ckll.) in Kenya Colony.—Bull. Dep. Agric. Kenya. no. 18, 110 pp.Google Scholar
Lever, R. J. A. W. (1937). Economic insects and biological control in the British Solomon Islands.—Bull. ent. Res. 28, pp. 325–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nutman, F. J. & Sheffield, F. M. L. (1949). Studies of the clove tree. I. Sudden-death disease and its epidemiology.—Ann. appl. Biol., 36, pp. 419–439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Connor, B. A. (1950). Premature nutfall of coconuts in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate.—Agric. J. Fiji. 21, pp. 21–42.Google Scholar
Phillips, J. S. (1940). Immature nutfall of coconuts in the Solomon Islands.—Bull. ent. Res. 31, pp. 295–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strickland, A. H. (1951). The entomology of swollen shoot of cacao. II. The bionomics and ecology of the species involved.—Bull. ent. Res., 42, pp. 65–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tidbury, G. E. & Calton, W. E. (1950). The use of microplots in a reconnaissance survey of the nutrient status of the soils of Zanzibar Island.—E. Afr. agric. J. 15, pp. 108–115.Google Scholar
Way, M. J. (1951). An insect pest of coconuts and its relationship to certain ant species.—Nature, Lond., 168, p. 302.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Way, M. J. (1953). Studies on Theraptus sp. (Coreidae); the cause of the gumming disease of coconuts in East Africa.—Bull. ent. Res., 44, pp. 657–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, W. M. & Others (1922). Ants of the American Museum Congo Expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa.—Bull. Amer. Mus. nat. Hist. 45, 1139 pp.Google Scholar