Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, 18

doi: 10.1093/jee/tox107
Research article
Household and Structural Insects

Development of Liquid Bait With Unique Bait Station for

Control of Dolichoderus thoracicus (Hymenoptera:
Formicidae)
Chung-Chi Lin,1 Tsai-Wei Chang, Hung-Wei Chen, Chung-Han Shih, and Po-Cheng Hsu
Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, No. 1, Jin-De Rd., Changhua City, 50007, Taiwan (cclin@
cc.ncue.edu.tw; sj801112@yahoo.com.tw; mark77529@livemail.tw; harry820902@gmail.com; s810093125@gmail.com), and
1
Corresponding author, e-mail: cclin@cc.ncue.edu.tw

Subject Editor: Arthur Appel

Received 12 December 2016; Editorial decision 20 March 2017

Abstract
The Dolichoderus thoracicus (Smith) has seriously infested urban, village, and agricultural environments in
Taiwan. To develop optimal bait for the effective control of D. thoracicus, we investigated the feeding prefer-
ences of this ant at different sugar and amino acid concentrations in a laboratory setting. The number of feeding
workers was significantly higher for 20% sucrose compared with that for other sugars at 10% and 20% concen-
trations. Furthermore, among all tested concentrations of monosodium glutamate (MSG; 1%, 3%, 5%, and
10%), the highest number of ants were attracted by 1% MSG with 20% sucrose. The consumption of each bait
solution was also measured, and the results were similar to those for ant number. Regarding toxicants, the tox-
icity and repellency of 3% boric acid and borax bait were evaluated individually. Both 3% boric acid and borax
demonstrated no repellency against D. thoracicus workers. The LT50 of the 3% boric acid bait was 4.87 d,
whereas that of 3% borax bait was only 1.56 d. Thus, 3% boric acid showed further delayed action, facilitating
workers spreading the toxicant to their nestmates through trophallaxis. In combination with our unique bait sta-
tion, we propose an optimal bait formulation comprising 20% sucrose, 1% MSG, and 3% boric acid as a promis-
ing candidate for controlling D. thoracicus.

Key words: Dolichoderus thoracicus, bait, boric acid, feeding preference, pest ant

The Dolichoderus thoracicus (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
was described by Smith (1860), and is native to southeast Asia. It
opportunistically nests in folded leaves or leaf litter on the ground
(Khoo and Chung 1989). This ant has been evaluated as a biocon-
trol agent to suppress populations of pests in economic crops, such
as cocoa and sapodilla (Khoo and Ho 1992, Van Mele and Cuc
2001). This species has also been deliberately introduced into
Malaysia, Argentina, and Hawaii (Taylor 1987, Reimer 1994,
Nishida 2002). In Taiwan, D. thoracicus is mainly distributed in
bamboo forests, and gardens. It can also invade indoor and outdoor
areas associated with human activity by establishing new spreading
and foraging routes in water pipes and wires. These manmade areas
provide this pest suitable habitats, like the edges of windows, ceil-
ings, and beams. Besides, D. thoracicus can obtain sugar sources
from flowers and hemipteran insects in manmade gardens or yards.
To date, this pest severely reduces the quality of human life in
Taiwan. However, no effective method of control has been
reported.
The most common strategy for managing pest ant populations is
the chemical control. Treatment with residual sprays, one of the
main methods used for reducing ant infestations, can rapidly reduce
the number of pest ants; however, this method has several limita-
tions: 1) Their use only causes partial suppression because they
mostly kill workers which foraged outside; the queen, workers, and
larvae in the nest remain unaffected (Knight and Rust 1990). 2) To
maintain their efficacy, sprays must be reapplied, making this
method time- and cost-intensive (Rust et al. 1996). 3) These sprays
are also toxic to beneficial, nontarget organisms; moreover, the
chemical residues cause environmental pollution and are retained in
crops, indirectly damaging human health (Smith et al. 1996). Thus,
an increasing number of studies have focused on the use of toxic
baits as an alternative method for controlling pest ants (Lee and Lee
2002, Daane et al. 2008).
Toxic baits are composed of a delayed-action insecticide incor-
porated into a palatable food. By using the characteristics of recruit-
ment and trophallaxis in ants, baits target the entire ant colony
rather than just foragers (Silverman and Tai 2001). In addition, ra-
ther than being sprayed widely, a small quantity of the insecticide is
placed in the bait station and delivered from a point source, thus
reducing environmental damage (Hooper-Bui and Rust 2000).

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2 Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0
Knowledge of the precise location of ant nests is not required when
baits are deployed (Chong and Lee 2009).
Effective ant baits generally have these characteristics: ant-
preferred food ingredients, a slow-acting insecticide, and nonrepel-
lent preservatives (Cherrett and Lewis 1974, Rust et al. 2004,
Silverman and Brightwell 2008). Baits are usually formulated as li-
quids, granules, and gels (Silverman and Tai 2001, Hara et al.
2014). To date, many studies have focused on the optimal concen-
tration of toxicants to effectively control pest ants (Hooper-Bui and
Rust 2000, Ulloa-Chac! on and Jaramillo 2003). Other studies have
investigated the various bait matrices impacting feeding preferences
of ants (Hara et al. 2014). However, few studies have focused on
food source preferences and food concentrations for D. thoracicus.
The ingredients of ant baits are essentially carbohydrates and
proteins. Several studies have shown that these two components
strongly affect feeding preference in ants (Ricks and Vinson 1970,
Kaspari and Yanoviak 2001). Various ant species may specifically
sense and forage for their preferred carbohydrates (Vander Meer
et al. 1995). In addition, Hahn and Wheeler (2002) demonstrated
that arboreal ants preferentially select protein-based baits, whereas
terrestrial ants tend to feed on carbohydrate-based baits. Therefore,
an objective of our research was to analyze the degree of attraction
of D. thoracicus to baits of various formulations. In terms of the
slow-acting insecticides, boron compounds (boric acid or borax) are
toxicants that have been used for controlling ants for over a century
(Riley 1889). Boron compound-based baits have been assessed for
their toxic effects on many ant species, such as carpenter ants,
Camponotus abdominalis (L.) and Argentine ants, Linepithema
humile (Mayr) (Klotz et al. 1996, 1997). Although the toxicity of
borate-containing baits toward several ant species has been well-
studied, little is known about their effects on D. thoracicus. Because
asymmetrical feeding preference toward two baits with boric acid
and borax may depend on the ant species (Sola et al. 2013), the se-
cond objective of this study was to determine the toxicity of boric
acid- and borax-based baits on D. thoracicus.
In the wild, D. thoracicus favor honeydew or extrafloral necta-
ries, which are liquid food sources (Ho and Khoo 1997, Way and
Bolton 1997). Thus, we selected a liquid form, rather than granule
form, of bait for our study. We investigated the feeding preference
of D. thoracicus toward liquid baits with different sugar sources and
concentrations, additional nitrogen nutrients, and a preservative
under laboratory condition. And the lethal effect (toxicity) of the
toxicants was evaluated. This is the first study to facilitate the devel-
opment of sustainable tools for managing D. thoracicus outbreaks
in urban and agricultural environments.
Materials and Methods
Insects
The bamboo branches or culms, where D. thoracicus lived, were cut
and placed into a zip-lock bag in Shihu Township, Miaoli County,
Taiwan. The branches and culms (wild nests) were transferred to the
Social Insect Laboratory at National Changhua University of
Education, Taiwan. Ants from different nests were placed separately
in large plastic boxes (47 by 34 by 26 cm); the upper part of the
inner walls was smeared with Fluon (polytetrafluoroethylene;
Northern Products, Inc., Woonsocket, RI) to prevent the ants from
escaping. Bamboo branches or culms were set to provide space for
nesting. Colonies were provisioned with plastic dishes containing
cotton which was wet with 20% sucrose solution as carbon source,
pieces of egg pudding (Uni-President Enterprise Co., Tainan,
Fig. 1. Schematic of the liquid bait station developed in our laboratory.
Taiwan) as nitrogen source, and 5-ml water vial plugged with cotton
as water source. These foods and water were supplied every day.
Ant colonies were maintained in the laboratory (at about 25 ! C and
a photoperiod of 12:12 [L:D] h) for subsequent experiments.
Bait Station
We used a liquid bait station developed in our laboratory. It was
composed of two parts: an attractant platform and a 50-ml centri-
fuge tube to hold the bait solution (The bait solutions which we
used in this study are described in the following subsection). A small
hole was drilled in the lid of the centrifuge tube before use. The
drilled end of the tube is attached to the notch (Fig. 1, the upper
half) of upside-down bait station. Then, both the centrifuge tube
and bait station were inverted together to allow the solution to fill
up the groove (Fig. 1, the lower half) when we deployed the baits.
This bait station can continue providing stable liquid bait solution
for up to 7 d under general conditions. The groove was designed to
allow a large number of ants to feed on the liquid bait simultan-
eously (Fig. 2A, B).
Bait Preference and Repellency Tests
Tests were conducted to determine the feeding preference by D.
thoracicus to bait solutions: 1) Sucrose, fructose, and maltose were
individually dissolved in reverse osmotic water (RO water, which
was purified by passing through semipermeable membrane to re-
move ions and large particles) to prepare 10% and 20% (mass/vol-
ume) sugar solutions. 2) For the nitrogen source (amino acid)
preference, solutions containing 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% (mass/vol-
ume) monosodium glutamate (MSG) with 20% sucrose, and control
(20% sucrose) solution were prepared as additional nitrogen treat-
ments. 3) To prevent microbial contamination and prolong liquid
solution life span (Buczkowski et al. 2014), we compared the bait
solution (20% sucrose and 5% MSG) containing 0.3% (mass/vol-
ume) benzoic acid as a preservative with a control solution (20% su-
crose 5% MSG). This test was designed to determine whether
benzoic acid was repellent to D. thoracicus. 4) Crystalline boric acid
(H3BO3) and borax (Na2B4O7) were dissolved in 20% sucroseRO
water with 1% MSG to a 3% (mass/volume) concentration each. To
verify that the active ingredients were not repellent, we also
Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0
Fig. 2. Images of D. thoracicus workers feeding on liquid baits containing (A) 20% sucrose and (B) 20% sucrose and 1% MSG.
compared these two toxic baits with a control solution (20%
sucroseRO water with 1% MSG). Each solution was added to the
50-ml centrifuge tube before installation into the bait station.
A total of 600 ant workers were haphazardly selected and placed
in plastic boxes containing bamboo branches and RO water in each
test colony. The ants were allowed to acclimatize to the nest for 1
wk and were then starved for 1 d before tests were initiated. The dif-
ferent bait solutions were then individually introduced into the bait
stations and separately deployed in different test colonies. The ants
were allowed to feed ad libitum. Feeding activity was monitored by
time-lapse camera (TLC200, Brinno, Taipei, Taiwan), and images
captured every 30 s for 1 h. The average number of feeding ants was
evaluated from 20 images per 10 min; only the ants that stayed on
the bait station and touched the bait solutions with its mouthpart
were counted. The six figures acquired from the 10-min intervals
during 1 h represented the total number of feeding ants. Six repli-
cates were performed for each treatment.
Bait Consumption
Bait consumption was determined by visual observation of the
change in the scale on the centrifuge tube. The drop distance of li-
quid surface was measured by Vernier calipers and converted into
the volume (6 0.1 ml). The mean consumption of each solution for
1 d was calculated from six replicates. Water lost through evapor-
ation was subtracted from the volume in the centrifuge tube as a cor-
rection factor. The evaporative water loss was detected by
depositing the bait station in adjacent nest boxes without ants and
measuring the volumetric reduction as described above.
Toxicity Tests
Two toxic baits (3% boric acid or borax in 20% sucroseRO water
with 1% MSG) were separately placed in test ant colonies. Each test
ant colony placed 500 workers and acclimatization process for ants
was identical to that for the feeding preference tests. After starvation
for 1 d, the dead ants were removed with new workers before the
tests were initiated. Each bait or control (20% sucroseRO water
with 1% MSG) was provided to the ants for 8 d. The number of
3
dead ants was recorded daily to further calculate the survival rate:
[(500 # the number of dead ants)/500 $ 100%].
Statistical Analysis
The results of the feeding preference tests for sugar and amino acid
sources were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA), followed by the BonferroniDunn post hoc test, whereas
the results of tests for benzoic acid as a preservative were analyzed
using Students t test. To calculate the LT50 of the two boron-based
compounds for workers, data were corrected using the formula de-
veloped by Abbott (1925) and analyzed using probit analysis
(Raymond 1985). The survival analyses for different treatments
were computed using the KaplanMeier estimator (Kaplan and
Meier 1958), and the resulting survival curves were plotted. These
curves were further compared and any obvious differences were
examined using the log-rank test (Cox and Oakes 1984), where
P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Bait Acceptance
20% sucrose solution was more attractive than any other sugar baits
(Fig. 3; F 6.86, df 2, 39; P < 0.01): 435.3 6 25.2 workers con-
sumed the bait with 20% sucrose for 1 h. Sucrose was more attractive
than the other two sugar foods. Bait consumption showed a similar
pattern (Fig. 4; F 4.68, df 2, 39; P < 0.05): consumption was
highest in the 20% sucrose solution (18.8 6 1.2 ml/d), followed by
the 10% sucrose solution (13.6 6 1.7 ml/d). For other sugar solutions,
the consumption was lower than 8 ml. 20% sucrose was the most pre-
ferred by D. thoracicus and was selected for the subsequent tests.
Attractiveness of Baits
Figure 5 illustrated the number of foraging D. thoracicus at different
MSG concentrations in the 20% sucrose solution. The solution con-
taining 1% MSG with 20% sucrose attracted a significantly greater
number of ants compared with the control (F 22.08, df 4, 25;
P < 0.001): this solution attracted 525.3 6 27.8 ants, indicating an
4 Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0

Fig. 3. Numbers of D. thoracicus workers (mean 6 SE) feeding on liquid baits each containing 10% and 20% sucrose, fructose, and maltose per hour. RO water
was used as control. Means followed by the same letter indicate nonsignificant difference (one-way ANOVA, BonferroniDunn post hoc, F 6.86; df 2, 39;
P < 0.01; n 6).

Fig. 4. Daily consumption (mean 6 SE) of bait solutions each containing 10% and 20% sucrose, fructose, and maltose. RO water was used as control. Means fol-
lowed by the same letter indicate nonsignificant difference (one-way ANOVA, BonferroniDunn post hoc, F 4.68; df 2, 39; P < 0.05; n 6).

&1.25-fold increase compared with the control (420.8 6 18.7 ants).
At higher concentrations of MSG (3%, 5%, and 10%), the number
of feeding ants did not increase significantly compared with the con-
trol. In addition, bait consumption for 1 d for these treatments and
the controls demonstrated a similar trend (Fig. 6; F 29.3; df 4,
25; P < 0.001): the 1% MSG solution showed the highest daily con-
sumption (26.9 6 1.9 ml/d, significantly differing from that of the
control [18.1 6 1.7 ml/d]), whereas the consumption of other MSG
solutions was similar to that of the control. Taken together, the
solution containing 1% MSG in 20% sucrose was selected as the
optimal food ingredient formulation for a bait solution to attract
D. thoracicus in this study.
Repellency of Baits With Benzoic Acid
To assess whether benzoic acid was repellent to D. thoracicus, we
added 0.3% benzoic acid to 20% sucrose containing 1% MSG and
performed the preference tests in comparison to a control (1% MSG
Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0 5

Fig. 5. Numbers of D. thoracicus workers (mean 6 SE) feeding on solutions containing 20% sucrose each with 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% MSG per hour. Solution con-
taining 20% sucrose was used as control. Means followed by the same letter indicate nonsignificant difference (one-way ANOVA, BonferroniDunn post hoc,
F 22.08; df 4, 25; P < 0.001; n 6).

Fig. 6. Daily consumption (mean 6 SE) of bait solutions each 20% sucrose each with 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% MSG. Solution containing 20% sucrose was used as
control. Means followed by the same letter indicate nonsignificant difference (one-way ANOVA, BonferroniDunn post hoc, F 29.3; df 4, 25; P < 0.001; n 6).

in 20% sucrose solution). The results (Fig. 7) revealed that the num-
bers of ants feeding per hour on bait solutions with and without ben-
zoic acid were similar (t 1.6, df 10; P 0.14), indicating 0.3%
benzoic acid was not affecting attractant to D. thoracicus.
Repellency and Toxicity of Boron Baits
First, we verified that our optimal bait solutions (1% MSG in 20%
sucrose) with 3% borax or boric acid were not affecting attractant
to D. thoracicus: the results (Fig. 8) revealed that the numbers of
ants feeding on the treatment and control bait solutions per hour did
not differ significantly (F 2.21, df 2, 15; P 0.144). We next
evaluated the toxic effects of borax and boric acid on D. thoracicus.
Table 1 presents the survival rates of workers in baits containing
3% borax, 3% boric acid, and the control every day for 8 d. The
toxicity of 3% borax was higher than that of the 3% boric acid or
control during the test. The LT50 of 3% borax was 1.56 d, three
times shorter than that of boric acid (4.87 d). According to the
6 Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0
Fig. 7. Numbers of D. thoracicus workers (mean 6 SE) feeding on liquid baits
containing 20% sucrose and 1% MSG with or without benzoic acid. Solution
containing 20% sucrose and 1% MSG was used as control (t test, t 1.6;
df 10; P 0.14; n 6).
Fig. 8. Numbers of D. thoracicus workers (mean 6 SE) feeding on bait solu-
tions containing 20% sucrose, 1% MSG, and 3% boric acid or borax. Solution
containing 20% sucrose and 1% MSG was used as control (one-way ANOVA,
BonferroniDunn post hoc, F 2.21; df 2, 15; P 0.144; n 6). control, probably because 1% MSG sufficiently fulfilled the amino
results of the KaplanMeier estimator and the log-rank test, the sur-
vival curves of both borax and boric acid were significantly lower
than that of the control (P < 0.05; Fig. 9). Approximately 50% of
the ants feeding on the 3% borax bait solution died at 1.5 d; this
duration may be insufficient for ant foragers to bring food to their
nest for trophallaxis. Thus, we suggest the addition of 3% boric acid
in a solution comprising 20% sucrose and 1% MSG to create an ex-
cellent bait solution for controlling D. thoracicus.
Discussion
Carbohydrates attract ants in species-dependent manners (Vander
Meer et al. 1995). In this study, D. thoracicus favored sucrose liquid
bait. This result is consistent with that of other ant species. Bluthgen
and Fiedler (2004) reported that for 23 ant species, sucrose was the
Table 1. Survival rate of D. thoracicus workers fed solutions con-
taining 20% sucrose, 1% MSG, and 3% borax or boric acid for 8 d
Days Borax (3% w/v) Boric acid (3% w/v) Controla
0 100% 100% 100%
1 70.7% 6 22.0% 98.8% 6 0.7% 98.8% 6 1.2%
2 26.3% 6 9.8% 96.1% 6 2.9% 96.2% 6 2.2%
3 6.6% 6 2.5% 85.8% 612.7% 93.8% 6 4.2%
4 4.2% 6 1.9% 67.2% 6 9.2% 92.4% 6 1.0%
5 3.4% 6 2.3% 42.1% 6 1.2% 90.2% 6 1.6%
6 2.4% 6 2.0% 27.0% 6 4.8% 89.2% 6 1.1%
7 0.0% 8.8% 6 2.9% 88.2% 6 2.6%
8 0.0% 1.3% 6 0.6% 87.6% 6 1.4%
a
Control: Solutions containing 20% sucrose and 1% MSG.
most attractive sugar, followed by glucose. The variations in sugar
preference may be associated with the availability of native food re-
sources in ant habitats. The major liquid food source for ants is nec-
tar from plants or honeydew from mealybugs, both of which
contain different compositions and concentrations of sugar and
amino acids depending on the species (Fischer and Shingleton 2001,
Bluthgen et al. 2004). Considering amino acids, D. thoracicus pre-
ferred 1% MSG in 20% sucrose; however, no feeding preference
was noted for the higher concentrations of MSG (3%, 5%, and
10%) in 20% sucrose compared with the control. By contrast, in a
previous study, Solenopsis geminata (F.) preferred amino acid-rich
nectar mimic over a solution with a lower amino acid content
(Lanza et al. 1993). Interspecific differences have been noted in the
feeding preferences for amino acids among some ant species; for in-
stance, Oecophylla smaragdina (F.) was found to favor arginine
over glutamic acid and Pheidole platypus Crawley preferred sugar
only over sugar with serine (Bluthgen and Fiedler 2004). Notably,
amino acids have demonstrated repellency against ants in some
cases; therefore, each ant species can be concluded to have specific
amino acid preferences. Dolichoderus thoracicus may favor glu-
tamic acid, dissociated from the MSG provided as the nitrogen
source. Furthermore, ants dietary choices are affected by colony de-
velopment and requirements (Edwards and Abraham 1990,
Dussutour and Simpson 2008). Larvae prefer amino acids for their
growth, whereas workers require carbohydrates as metabolic fuel
for their activity and competitive performance (Cassill and
Tschinkel 1999, Grover et al. 2007). Here, the consumption of 3%,
5%, and 10% MSG did not differ significantly compared with the
acid requirement of D. thoracicus. Taken together, both physio-
logical demands and resource availability contributed to the feeding
preferences of the ants. Furthermore, adding 1% MSG to a 20% su-
crose solution strengthened the attraction of D. thoracicus. This
phenomenon was also observed in Camponotus japonicus Mayr,
where glycine had a synergistic role in the gustatory response to glu-
cose (Wada et al. 2001).
Boron-based compounds have widely been used in baits to con-
trol pests because they are water soluble, have delayed action, and
are less toxic to mammals than other insecticides (Quarles 1992,
Klotz and Williams 1996). They disrupt the regulation of water bal-
ance in ants, causing them to consume more bait to contend with de-
hydration (Klotz and Moss 1996). The gradual accumulation of the
toxic effect induces cell death in the midgut, postpharyngeal glands,
and Malpighian tubules (Sumida et al. 2010). Here, a 90% reduc-
tion was observed in the number of D. thoracicus workers treated
with a 3% boric acid bait solution for 1 wk; the same mortality was
Journal of Economic Entomology, 2017, Vol. 0, No. 0
Fig. 9. Survival curves of ants treated with bait solutions containing 20% sucrose, 1% MSG, and 3% borax or boric acid and with control (20% sucrose and 1%
MSG) for 8 d (KaplanMeier estimate method, log-rank test, P < 0.05; n 6).
achieved within only 3 d with a 3% borax bait solution. To elimin-
ate an entire ant colony by using a bait solution, sufficient time must
be allocated for workers to transfer the toxicant to other nest mem-
bers through trophallaxis (Rust et al. 2004). We observed that 3%
boric acid has more delayed action than does 3% borax.
The toxicity of boric acid to ants has been evaluated in many
studies. Ulloa-Chac! on and Jaramillo (2003) reported that all work-
ers, broods, and queens of the Tapinoma melanocephalum (F.), died
after treatment with 0.5% boric acid for 3 wk. Linepithema humile
demonstrated &90% worker mortality after exposure to 0.5% boric
acid for 2 wk (Hooper-Bui and Rust 2000). In addition, at higher
concentration of toxicants, the bait solution may have a repellent ef-
fect on target ants. Compared with that containing 10% sucrose,
the bait with 5% boric acid was repellent to S. invicta (Klotz et al.
1997). In L. humile, consumption significantly decreased after treat-
ment with baits containing 2% or 4% boric acid compared with
that after treatment without boric acid (Klotz et al. 2000). Here, 3%
boric acid or borax bait solutions demonstrated no repellency
against D. thoracicus, suggesting that D. thoracicus may have a
lower awareness of boric acid than L. humile does. Therefore, a bait
effective in controlling one pest should not be applied for another
pest without evaluation.
In the field, the effectiveness of baits in controlling pest ants may
change with the season. In the wood ant species Formica lugubris
Zetterstedt, the median effective concentration (ED50) of sucrose so-
lution is up to 0.9 M during late June, whereas it decreases to 0.4 M
during early November (Sudd and Sudd 1985). Stein et al. (1990)
observed that S. invicta prefers carbohydrate baits in January and
February. By contrast, more foragers select protein baits, rather than
carbohydrate baits, from March to October in Houston, TX.
Moreover, optimal bait density is critical for the effective and cost-
saving management of pests in the field (Nelson and Daane 2007).
Toxicants may become concentrated in bait solutions because of
water evaporation, indirectly interfering with their acceptance by
ants (Klotz et al. 2004). Thus, our next step will be to examine
whether our bait solution is effective in controlling D. thoracicus in
the field.
7
At present, D. thoracicus is mainly distributed in southern Asia
and has increasingly infested human environments in Taiwan. These
ants have also been discovered at ports of entry in New Zealand
(Ward et al. 2006). Way and Bolton (1997) reported that the
D. thoracicus population increased excessively after it became the
sole local species in Malaysian coconut trees. D. thoracicus may
soon be considered an invasive species. Our study provided useful
information for developing an optimized formulation for a liquid
bait, along with a unique, efficient bait station, to reduce the D.
thoracicus worker population in a laboratory setting. Additional
studies are required to determine whether this bait can satisfactorily
control D. thoracicus population in the field.
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