TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term changes and ant-exclusion effects on the true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of an organic citrus grove
AU - Piñol, Josep
AU - Ribes, Eva
AU - Ribes, Jordi
AU - Espadaler, Xavier
PY - 2012/9/1
Y1 - 2012/9/1
N2 - The Heteroptera assemblage of a citrus grove and how it was affected by ant-exclusion was examined during transformation from conventional to organic agriculture. The results showed that the Heteroptera assemblage changed dramatically over the eight years of the study: at first, it mainly consisted of herbivorous lygaeids and predatory anthocorids but became dominated by predatory mirids in 2008-2009. The predator/herbivore ratio increased steadily over the eight years of the study. Ants can form mutualistic relationships with heteropteran pests. However, exclusion of ants from canopies did not affect the Heteroptera assemblage at the beginning of the study, but had a profound effect later on. In particular, ant-exclusion increased the abundance of most predatory Heteroptera, except for the myrmecomorphic mirid Pilophorus perplexus, which was approximately five times more abundant in control than in ant-excluded trees; the analyses showed that the only mimicked ant species was Lasius grandis. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
AB - The Heteroptera assemblage of a citrus grove and how it was affected by ant-exclusion was examined during transformation from conventional to organic agriculture. The results showed that the Heteroptera assemblage changed dramatically over the eight years of the study: at first, it mainly consisted of herbivorous lygaeids and predatory anthocorids but became dominated by predatory mirids in 2008-2009. The predator/herbivore ratio increased steadily over the eight years of the study. Ants can form mutualistic relationships with heteropteran pests. However, exclusion of ants from canopies did not affect the Heteroptera assemblage at the beginning of the study, but had a profound effect later on. In particular, ant-exclusion increased the abundance of most predatory Heteroptera, except for the myrmecomorphic mirid Pilophorus perplexus, which was approximately five times more abundant in control than in ant-excluded trees; the analyses showed that the only mimicked ant species was Lasius grandis. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
KW - Biological control
KW - Cardiastethus fasciiventris
KW - Lasius grandis
KW - Mediterranean
KW - Myrmecomorphy
KW - Pilophorus perplexus
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.06.004
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2012.06.004
M3 - Article
SN - 0167-8809
VL - 158
SP - 127
EP - 131
JO - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
JF - Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
ER -