Abstract Field observations have indicated that ant predation of eggs of the litchi stink bug (Tessaratoma papillosa), a major emerging invasive species in agriculture and forestry in Taiwan, is fairly common. Eggs are either physically destroyed by individual ant foragers or removed by a group of recruited workers, possibly as a food source. To understand the species identity of ants involved in egg predation and the efficiency of such predation, multiple egg sheets, each containing 14 fresh litchi stink bug eggs on a leaf surface, were placed on two randomly-selected longan trees for two days in each of four experimental plots. We collected ants found processing these eggs for species identification and also estimated the egg feeding rate (number of consumed eggs/total number of eggs). Two egg-predating ant species were identified, namely, the acrobat ant (Crematogaster rogenhoferi) and the big-headed ant (Pheidole sp.). Although egg-feeding rates varied across the experimental plots, the results generally supported the feasibility of using ants as a predator of the invasive litchi stink bug in Taiwan. Future research should be devoted to optimizing this ant-based biological control strategy.
摘要 荔枝椿象 (Tessaratoma papillosa Drury) 為臺灣近年危害嚴重之農業及都市林外來入侵害蟲。近年來於苗栗地區田間觀察荔枝椿象產卵過程中，發現其卵殼常受螞蟻取食導致呈現不規則破裂狀或遭全數移除，顯示螞蟻可能具備荔枝椿象捕食性天敵之潛力。為建立荔枝椿象捕食性天敵之基礎資訊，本研究於苗栗縣西湖鄉龍眼樹吊掛荔枝椿象卵片，觀察並鑑定取食卵粒之螞蟻物種。結果顯示，試驗期間於卵片上發現懸巢舉尾蟻 (Crematogaster rogenhoferi Mayr) 及大頭家蟻(Pheidole sp.) 共兩種螞蟻。進一步觀測取食效率及行為模式，發現螞蟻具備成為荔枝椿象捕食性天敵之潛力。本研究建議，未來可透過了解相關螞蟻物種之基礎生物學，設計與現行荔枝椿象防治架構相容之生物防治計畫，平衡不同功能群 (functional group) 生物防治天敵間之角色，達到防治效力之最大化。
| Key words: ants, biological control, natural enemy, predator, Tessaratoma papillosa | | 關鍵詞: 螞蟻、生物防治、荔枝椿象、捕食性天敵 |
|