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Trail Pheromone Disruption Of Argentine Ant Trail Formation And Foraging, David Maxwell Suckling, Robert W. Peck, Lloyd D. Stringer, Kirsten Snook, Paul C. Banko

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Trail pheromone disruption of invasive ants is a novel tactic that builds on the development of pheromonebased pest management in other insects. Argentine ant trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal, was formulated as a microencapsulated sprayable particle and applied against Argentine ant populations in 400 m² field plots in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. A widely dispersed point source strategy for trail pheromone disruption was used. Traffic rates of ants in bioassays of treated filter paper, protected from rainfall and sunlight, indicated the presence of behaviorally significant quantities of pheromone being released from the formulation for up to 59 days. The …