Biological control of the fruit-spotting bug Amblypelta lutescens using weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina on African mahoganies in Australia

摘要

1African mahogany Khaya senegalensis is a high-value timber tree. Pilot plantings showed that the fruit-spotting bug Amblypelta lutescens causes severe damage of the tree in the wet–dry tropics of northern Australia. The weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina is an efficient biocontrol agent in some horticulture crops. To investigate whether the ants control this pest, field experiments were conducted from April 2006 to January 2009 at two study sites in the Darwin area, Australia. A laboratory experiment was carried out in March 2007 at Berrimah Farm.