Optimization of treatment blocking the gustatory sense and feeding ethogram of red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) to sugar

Abstract

The red imported fire ant is one of the notorious species of ants all over the world. The most effective control of red imported fire ant is the broadcast application of baits, i.e., fatty oil. However, to improve the sugar bait efficacy against fire ants, one of the most important ways is that understand the sugar taste mechanism of fire ant workers via feeding behavior/ethogram. Therefore, we first time described the feeding ethogram of minor fire ant workers to sucrose solution. As well as, we first time explained that, how we can block or deactivate the sensitivity of gustatory sensilla on gustatory appendages of fire ant workers (minor size, head width 0.5–0.8 mm). We used different techniques (ablation, 2–silicon components and HCL solution) for blocking the sensitivity of antennal and tarsal sensilla in in the fire ant workers. Feeding ethogram confirmed that fore legs tarsi of fire ant workers are main gustatory organ to sucrose solution. In antennal treatments, the survival % of workers without a flagellum (ablated of flagellum) was maximum as compared to silicon treated workers. In tarsal treatments, the survival % of HCL treated workers were maximum as compared to other treated workers (ablation of foreleg tarsi and silicon treated foreleg tarsi). The results implied that ablation for antennae flagellum and HCL solution for foreleg tarsi were more suitable for study the gustatory behavior of fire ant workers on the sucrose solution. This study would be more useful for the study regarding the gustatory sense of fire ant through antennal and tarsal sensilla.