Crematogaster chiarinii ants as a potential biological control agent for protecting honeybee colonies from attack by Dorylus quadratus driver ants in Ethiopia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Journal Article

Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed . 2014

• المجلة \ الصحيفة: Agricultural and Forest Entomology
• رقم العدد: 1
• رقم الإصدار السنوي: 10
• الصفحات: 1-12

مستخلص المنشور

Ants have colonized almost every place on earth and are
reported to thrive in most ecosystems, amounting to 15–25% of
the terrestrial animal biomass (Schultz, 2000). The significant
role of ants in terrestrial ecosystems is well recognized
(Holway et al., 2002), including as important biological control
agents for agricultural pests (Way & Khoo, 1992; Philpott &
Armbrecht, 2006), in soil improvement and in nutrient cycling
(Gotwald, 1986; Frouz & Jilkov`a, 2008). Although some ant
species are beneficial, many others cause economic losses by
disrupting ecosystems; attacking beneficial insects; tending sapsucking
insects, which directly damage the host plants and
may act as vectors of plant diseases; and attacking humans
and domestic animals (Adams et al., 1976; Robinson, 1982;
Vinson, 1986; Adjare, 1990; Banks et al., 1990; Vander Meer
et al., 1990; Buczkowski & Bennett, 2008).
In the tropics, particularly in Africa, honeybee pests are more
serious and economically important than honeybee diseases.