Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea

National Institute of Ecology (국립생태원)
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Distribution and Bionomics of the Argentine Ant Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae)

  • Min-Ji Lee (Department of Biological Science, Kunsan National University) ;
  • Young-Gyu Ban (Daejeon Insectarium, Agricultural Life Policy Division, Daejeon City Hall) ;
  • Heejo Lee (Invasive Alien Species Team, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Young Ha Kim (Invasive Alien Species Team, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Dayeong Kim (Invasive Alien Species Team, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Nang-Hee Kim (Environmental Impact Assessment Team, National Institute of Ecology) ;
  • Dong Eon, Kim (Department of Research Planning, National Institute of Ecology)
  • Received : 2023.06.22
  • Accepted : 2023.07.11
  • Published : 2023.08.01
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Abstract

In this study, the distribution, bait preference, hosts, symbionts, habitat status, and cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the ant Linepithema humile were analyzed. This species habitat comprised approximately 1.5 km along stone crevices, flower gardens, roadsides, and container yards in the vicinity of Busan station, Korea. Feeding activity of this species was confirmed in 9 species of 7 families of plants. Which was approximately 14% of total flora (63 species of 37 families) in the studied area. Particularly, it was observed that Dendranthema indicum and Camellia japonica were the most frequently visited. Further, we verified that they interacted with four species of aphids. We identified 22 species of ants (17 genera, 4 subfamilies) inhabiting the Busan station area, including L. humile, Tetramorium tsushimae, Nylanderia flavipes and the alien species Paratrechina longicornis. In areas where L. humile was the dominant species, the habitat of local native ants was reduced by approximately 30%. Bait preference was ranked in the following order: jelly, water with glucose (25%), and yogurt, with the highest preference for baits containing sugar and protein. The 630-bp cytochrome c oxidase subunit-I sequences of the local L. humile populations were 99% identical to those of L. humile in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database, and the Argentine ants that invaded Korea had a sequence identical to that of other invasive populations from China, Japan, and New Zealand. As L. humile rapidly increases due to domestic adaptation, continuous monitoring and control strategy for eradication are needed to protect domestic biodiversity.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grants from the National Institute of Ecology (NIE), funded by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea (NIE-C-2022-32 and NIE-C-2023-32).

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