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... In the Neotropics, leaf-cutting ants are pests of great importance to various crops. The natural defenses and complexity of these ants reduce the impact of potentially useful pathogens for biological control. Furthermore, several types of research with entomopathogenic fungi usually focus on only a few isolates of well-known species, like Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, in addition ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Beauveria bassiana; Trichoderma harzianum; ant control; immatures; ingredients; leaf-cutting ants; pathogenicity; survival rate; toxicity; Show all 10 Subjects
Abstract:
... In 2009, sulfluramid, the main ingredient in toxic baits for leaf-cutting ant control, was included in Annex B of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. This resulted in interest in the use of entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana and Trichoderma harzianum for leaf-cutting ant control. The efficiency of these fungi in controlling these insects and the way that ants ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; flavonoids; forest restoration; host preferences; indigenous species; leaf nitrogen content; leaf-cutting ants; phytophagous insects; pioneer species; polyphenols; seedlings; species diversity; specific leaf area; tannins; tree damage; tree growth; tree height; tree mortality; tropical forests; Brazil; Show all 20 Subjects
Abstract:
... Leaf‐cutting ants (LCA) are generalist herbivores capable of causing severe plant damage. Negative impacts of ant herbivory vary according to the density of nests and availability of palatable plants; however, it is not yet clear how these herbivores affect tropical forest restoration sites. To investigate how LCA preference affects plant species performance, we evaluated the herbivory of Atta sex ...
Amanda Aparecida Carlos; Karla da Silva Malaquias; Rafael Camargo Consolmagno; André Lucio Franceschini Sarria; João Batista Fernandes; Odair Correa Bueno
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Virola; chemical composition; foraging; fungi; leaf-cutting ants; leaves; physicochemical properties; trichomes; volatile compounds; Show all 10 Subjects
Abstract:
... Leaf-cutter ant plant material choice is essential for colony maintenance and growth. Plant material is used as a substrate for cultivating symbiotic fungus, and the ants’ preference for particular leaves, tends to be determined by vegetal age-related physicochemical factors. The plant species Virola sebifera Aubl. (Myristicaceae), for example, shows a large number of leaf surface trichomes. Altho ...
... Leaf-cutting ants belonging to the genus Atta (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) are important pests in agricultural and forest environments. In the present study, we evaluated the formicidal activity of the essential oil of Pogostemon cablin and its nanoformulation on the leaf-cutting ants: Atta opaciceps (Borgmeier, 1939), Atta sexdens (Linnaeus, 1758), and Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel, 1908. The nanofo ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Acromyrmex subterraneus; cylinders; fungi; fungus gardens; habitats; larvae; pupae; soil; Show all 9 Subjects
Abstract:
... This study investigated the stimuli that trigger digging behavior in Acromyrmex subterraneus during nest building. The hypothesis was that the presence of the fungus garden and/or brood triggers the excavation of tunnels and chambers. For the experiment, the excavation rate of individually marked workers kept in plastic cylinders filled with soil was recorded. Four treatments were applied: (1) 30 ...
... Establishing their initial colony is probably the most critical moment in the life of leaf-cutting ants. The non-establishment is connected to abiotic and biotic factors, and the high mortality rates of initial colonies are possibly associated with entomopathogenic or antagonistic microorganisms to the symbiotic fungus present in the soil, hosted by these ants. Fire in the vegetation, depending on ...
... BACKGROUND: Leaf‐cutter ants are considered to be a major herbivore and agricultural pest in the Neotropics. They are often controlled by environmentally persistent insecticides. Biological control using pathogenic fungi is regarded as an alternative for the management of these insects. Here, we assess whether the filamentous fungus Syncephalastrum sp. is a pathogenic microorganism responsible for ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Penicillium citrinum; Trichoderma spirale; Trichosporon; ant colonies; cultivars; foraging; fungal communities; fungi; fungus gardens; gardens; leaf-cutting ants; Brazil; Show all 13 Subjects
Abstract:
... Fungus gardens of leaf-cutting ants harbor diverse alien fungi in addition to their fungal cultivar. Previous work suggested that alien microorganisms are likely derived from the substrata foraged by ant workers and incorporated into the fungus gardens. To test this hypothesis, we sampled 1014 garden fragments from 16 field colonies of Atta sexdens rubropilosa (a dicot-cutting ant) and Atta capigu ...
... Bacterial endosymbionts are common in all insects, and symbiosis has played an integral role in ant evolution. Atta sexdens rubropilosa leaf-cutting ants cultivate their symbiotic fungus using fresh leaves. They need to defend themselves and their brood against diseases, but they also need to defend their obligate fungus gardens, their primary food source, from infection, parasitism, and usurpatio ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Aspergillus nomius; aflatoxins; axenic culture; chemical analysis; economic impact; fungi; leaf-cutting ants; pathogenicity; pathogens; queen insects; tandem mass spectrometry; toxicity; Show all 13 Subjects
Abstract:
... Aspergillus spp. cause economic impacts due to aflatoxins production. Although the toxicity of aflatoxins is already known, little information about their ecological roles is available. Here we investigated the compounds produced by Aspergillus nomius ASR3 directly from a dead leaf-cutter queen ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa and the fungal axenic culture. Chemical analyses were carried out by high-r ...
... BACKGROUND: Although ants are common insects in agricultural ecosystems, few studies have considered how xenobiotics might induce physiological and morphological alterations in these insects. This study aimed to verify the neurotoxic action of sublethal doses of fipronil on the mushroom bodies of brains from the leaf‐cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa through immunocytochemistry analysis for the ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus; control methods; imidacloprid; ingestion; laboratory experimentation; leaf-cutting ants; liquid diet; liquids; nests; survival rate; toxicity; trophallaxis; Show all 13 Subjects
Abstract:
... Conventional control of leaf‐cutting ants is mainly carried out by application of solid insecticide baits. However, alternative approaches could increase the efficiency of control methods. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that liquid and semi‐solid baits are more readily ingested by leaf‐cutting ants and are therefore more toxic than solid baits. Furthermore, following increased ingestion rate ...
... Among Neotropical ants, the genera Acromyrmex and Atta are of great importance because they include the major agricultural pest species. Regarding the genus Atta, considered one of the most derived of the tribe Attini, cytogenetic data exists for 5 taxa that present 2n = 22 chromosomes; however, information regarding banding patterns is only available for Atta colombica. Cytogenetics has contribut ...
Rejane C. de Souza; João B. Fernandes; Paulo C. Vieira; M. Fátima das G. F. da Silva; Marizete F. P. Godoy; Fernando C. Pagnocca; Odair C. Bueno; M. José A. Hebling; José R. Pirani
... The stems of Pilocarpus grandiflorus have afforded the new imidazole alkaloid 4,6-dehydro- 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-2,5-dioxopilocarpine in addition to the 17 known compounds germanicol, β - amiryn, ocotillone, stigmast-4-en-3-one, 3β -hydroxy-stigmast-5-en-7-one, 6β -hydroxy-stigmast-4- en-3-one, β -sitosterol, scopoletin, 3-(1’,1’-dimethylallyl)-scopoletin, elisin, dictamine, 4-methoxy-2- quinolone, p ...
Malta Juliana; Martins Gustavo Ferreira; Marques Ana Ermelinda; Games Patrícia Dias; Zanuncio José Cola; Baracat-Pereira Maria Cristina; Salomão Tânia Maria Fernandes
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; females; gene expression regulation; leaf-cutting ants; protein synthesis; proteins; proteome; spermatheca; spermatozoa; storage time; Show all 10 Subjects
Abstract:
... SummaryFifteen of the 22 differentially expressed proteins in the spermathecae of virgin and inseminated females of the leaf cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa were tentatively identified. The profile of expressed proteins of the spermatheca differed significantly between virgin and fertilized females. Data from this study should contribute to the elucidation of the roles of these various protei ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; fungi; group effect; group size; leaf-cutting ants; leaves; progeny; worker ants; Show all 8 Subjects
Abstract:
... Leaf-cutting ant workers dig underground chambers, for housing their symbiotic fungus, interconnected by a vast quantity of tunnels whose function is to permit the entrance of food (leaves), gaseous exchanges, and movement of workers, offspring, and the queen. Digging is a task executed by a group of workers, but little is known about the group effect and group-constructed functional structures. T ...
... Queens of leaf-cutting ants found their nests singly, each consisting of a vertical tunnel and a final horizontal chamber. Because of the claustral mode of nest founding, the queen and/or her initial fungus garden are exposed to threats imposed by several soil pathogens, and the antibiotic secretions produced by their metapleural glands are considered a main adaptation to deal with them. Nests of ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Eucalyptus; allelochemicals; antennae; chemical composition; defoliation; electroantennography; electrophysiology; essential oils; foraging; leaf-cutting ants; pests; receptors; terpenoids; volatile compounds; wood; worker ants; Show all 17 Subjects
Abstract:
... The leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa Forel, 1908 is the most harmful of the Eucalyptus pests, causing severe losses in wood production through defoliation. Various strategies have been tried and effort spent on the development of methods to control this pest, however no practical and environmentally acceptable one currently exists. In this work the chemical composition of the essential oi ...
Attasexdensrubropilosa, etc ; Jatropha curcas; Ricinus communis; artificial diets; bioassays; castor oil; dietary supplements; direct contact; herbivores; ingestion; leaf-cutting ants; rearing; toxicity; tropics; Show all 14 Subjects
Abstract:
... Leaf-cutting ants are the main herbivores in the New World tropics. Although the toxicity of seed oils against these ants has been poorly investigated, previous results revealed that seed oils exert considerable toxic activity against these insects. This paper analyzes the toxic action and deterrent properties of castor oil, Ricinus communis L., and physic nut oil, Jatropha curcas L., against work ...