2021/10/07 by R. S. Patterson · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Plant and animal studies #Insect and Pesticide Research
paper · doi:10.1201/9780429040795-25
openalex publication_date 2021/10/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The taxonomy of ants is even worse when it comes to describing potential biological control organisms. Often the biocontrol organism is identified to genus or species, but the affected ants are often identified only to genus or common names, such as harvester ant, black ant. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is an excellent example of a species that was accidentally introduced into an environment free of any biological restraints, and within a decade they had become a major economic pest. A similar situation has occurred with the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta , and the black imported fire ant, S. richteri , in the United States. If one looks at ants in general, but especially the pest ants, they would seem superficially to be an ideal candidate for control and elimination by biological control agents. A number of potential biological control organisms of ants have been identified in the literature.