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North American Invasion of the Tawny Crazy Ant (Nylanderia fulva) Is Enabled by Pheromonal Synergism from Two Separate Glands

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Abstract

A new invader, the “tawny crazy ant”, Nylanderia fulva (Hymenoptera: Formicidae; Formicinae), is displacing the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Formicidae: Myrmicinae), in the southern U.S., likely through its superior chemical arsenal and communication. Alone, formic acid is unattractive, but this venom (= poison) acid powerfully synergizes attraction of tawny crazy ants to volatiles from the Dufour’s gland secretion of N. fulva workers, including the two major components, undecane and 2-tridecanone. The unexpected pheromonal synergism between the Dufour’s gland and the venom gland appears to be another key factor, in addition to previously known defensive and detoxification semiochemical features, for the successful invasion and domination of N. fulva in the southern U.S. This synergism is an efficient mechanism enabling N. fulva workers to outcompete Solenopsis and other ant species for food and territory. From a practical standpoint, judicious point-source release formulation of tawny crazy ant volatiles may be pivotal for enhanced attract-and-kill management of this pest.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Neil Michaelson, Dave Bearden, Guiji Zhou, Armen Margaryan and Dewey Welshons for assistance in trap and dispenser preparations, and Dr. Fudd Graham (Auburn University) on the occurrence of N. fulva in Alabama. Q-HZ and RGS are listed as inventors on a partially related US patent application submitted by Sterling International, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sterling International, Inc., 3808 N. Sullivan Rd., Bldg. 16, Spokane, WA, 99216, USA

    Qing-He Zhang, Doreen R. Hoover & Rodney G. Schneidmiller

  2. Texas Research Institute for Environmental Studies, Sam Houston State University, 2424 Sam Houston Avenue, Suite B-8, Box 2506, Huntsville, TX, 77341, USA

    Danny L. McDonald

  3. Jeffrey R. Aldrich consulting LLC, P. O. Box 7887, Santa Cruz, CA, 95061, USA

    Jeffrey R. Aldrich

  4. Associate, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Jeffrey R. Aldrich

Authors
  1. Qing-He Zhang
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  2. Danny L. McDonald
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  3. Doreen R. Hoover
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  4. Jeffrey R. Aldrich
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  5. Rodney G. Schneidmiller
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qing-He Zhang.

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Zhang, QH., McDonald, D.L., Hoover, D.R. et al. North American Invasion of the Tawny Crazy Ant (Nylanderia fulva) Is Enabled by Pheromonal Synergism from Two Separate Glands. J Chem Ecol 41, 853–858 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0622-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0622-6

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