Preference of Ant (Solenopsis sp.; Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for Salted Fish and Dried Shrimps Based Artificial Foods

Abstract

Solenopsis sp. is an aggressive predator that manages its prey.This ant species is very active and has organized nests in rice field bunds.In the field, Solenopsis sp. can be introduced early to control crop pests.Artificial feeding is an appropriate alternative to present Solenopsis sp. as a potential predator.This study aimed to determine the preference of Solenopsis sp.(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for artificial food and the population of ants collected.Observations were made on food consumption and ant populations around the preferred food.The results showed that the time taken by Solenopsis sp. to get to salted fish + Ageratum conyzoides (SF2) was significantly faster than dried shrimp + tea grounds (DS1) and dried shrimp + A. conyzoides (DS2).These treatments were not significantly different from salted fish (SF), SF1 and DS.However, the most preferred food by Solenopsis sp. was dried shrimp (DS), with an average consumption of 1.46 g.Similarly, the highest ant population was found in the DS wich simultaneously attracted the highest Solenopsis sp.population at the 80 th min with an average population of 148, 100 th min with 147, 140 th min with 63 and 180 th min with 43.The results showed that artificial feed with dried shrimp as the main ingredient was able to attract the population of Solenopsis sp.

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