Pheromone Disruption of Argentine Ant Trail Integrity

Disruption of Argentine ant trail following and reduced ability to forage (measured by bait location success) was achieved after presentation of an oversupply of trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal. Experiments tested single pheromone point sources and dispersion of a formulation in small field plots. Ant walking behavior was recorded and digitized by using video tracking, before and after presentation of trail pheromone. Ants showed changes in three parameters within seconds of treatment: (1) Ants on trails normally showed a unimodal frequency distribution of walking track angles, but this pattern disappeared after presentation of the trail pheromone; (2) ants showed initial high trail integrity on a range of untreated substrates from painted walls to wooden or concrete floors, but this was significantly reduced following presentation of a point source of pheromone; (3) the number of ants in the pheromone-treated area increased over time, as recruitment apparently exceeded departures. To test trail disruption in small outdoor plots, the trail pheromone was formulated with carnuba wax-coated quartz laboratory sand (1 g quartz sand/0.2 g wax/1 mg pheromone). The pheromone formulation, with a half-life of 30 h, was applied by rotary spreader at four rates (0, 2.5, 7.5, and 25 mg pheromone/m²) to 1- and 4-m² plots in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Ant counts at bait cards in treated plots were significantly reduced compared to controls on the day of treatment, and there was a significant reduction in ant foraging for 2 days. These results show that trail pheromone disruption of Argentine ants is possible, but a much more durable formulation is needed before nest-level impacts can be expected. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Determining pheromone content of hairpencils from individual virgin males ofPseudaletia unipuncta (Haw.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Levels of benzaldehyde recovered from virginPseudaletia unipuncta (Haw.) males were not influenced by (1) the time hairpencils remained in the solvent (1-72 hr), (2) anesthetization or agitation of males prior to excision of hairpencils, or (3) the time (photophase or scotophase) that hairpencils were excised. Thus the interindividual variability observed is not a methodological artifact. Most males had similar concentrations in both hairpencils, although in some cases only one hairpencil contained pheromone. In one case, a male with partially extruded hairpencils had no benzaldehyde at all. Neither pupal weight nor hairpencil length proved to be reliable indicators of pheromone content.Contribution No. 373, Département de biologie, Université Laval.     

Choosing OWA operator weights in the field of Social Choice

One of the most important issues in the theory of OWA operators is the determination of associated weights. This matter is essential in order to use the best-suited OWA operator in each aggregation process. Given that some aggregation processes can be seen as extensions of majority rules to the field of gradual preferences, it is possible to determine the OWA operator weights by taking into account the class of majority rule that we want to obtain when individuals do not grade their pairwise preferences. However, a difficulty with this approach is that the same majority rule can be obtained through a wide variety of OWA operators. For this reason, a model for selecting the best-suited OWA operators is proposed in this paper.     

Entropy/cross entropy-based group decision making under intuitionistic fuzzy environment

We study the group decision making problem under intuitionistic fuzzy environment. Based on entropy and cross entropy, we give two methods to determine the optimal weights of attributes, and develop two pairs of entropy and cross entropy measures for intuitionistic fuzzy values. Then, we discuss the properties of these measures and the relations between them and the existing ones. Furthermore, we introduce three new aggregation operators, which treat the membership and non-membership information fairly, to aggregate intuitionistic fuzzy information. Finally, several practical examples are presented to illustrate the developed methods.     

机器人三维路径规划问题的一种改进蚁群算法

本文研究移动机器人三维空间路径规划问题,针对三维空间的复杂地形特点,提出了一种基于改进蚁群算法的路径规划算法。文中首先描述了一种简单有效的环境建模方法,然后给出了算法在信息素呈现、路径点选取、信息素更新以及启发式函数设计等方面的改进方法。仿真结果证明了算法的可行性和可靠性。     

Antennal olfactory responsiveness of three sympatricIps species [Ips avulsus (Eichhoff),Ips calligraphus (Germar),Ips grandicollis (Eichhoff)], to intra- and interspecific behavioral chemicals

Electroantennograms (EAGs) from male and femaleIps avulsus, I. calligraphus, andI. grandicollis to their pheromones and selected host odorants or kairomones verified the presence of antennal olfactory receptors in both sexes of each species capable of detecting ipsdienol, ipsenol,cis- andtrans-verbenol,endo-brevicomin -pinene, frontalin, and verbenone. Each species possesses receptors with lower thresholds and in greater abundance for the compounds they produce and to which they are behaviorally most responsive. Detection of bothIps andDendroctonus pheromones by the three cohabiting species provides a sensory basis for olfactory interactions among the species. Differences in both threshold and saturation levels for EAGs for the various behavioral chemicals could denote differences in specific behavioral roles for each compound.Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Paper Number TA-22463. This research was supported in part by McIntire-Stennis Project 1525, USDA-CR grants 85-CRCR-1-1856 and 86-CRCR-2019 and NATO Collaborative Research Grant 86-0710. The findings, opinions, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. All programs and information of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station are available without regard to race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, or age.Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable.     

Pheromone-mediated copulatory responses of the screwworm fly,Cochliomyia hominivorax

A bioassay based on male copulatory responses occurring on contact with dead decoy insects was used to confirm the existence of a sex pheromone in the screwworm fly,Cochliomyia hominivorax. Males responded to female but not male decoys. Mated and virgin females were equally stimulatory. Activity was abolished when females were washed with hexane but partially restored by treatment with crude hexane extract of females. Responses decreased when extracts were diluted and when the number of females extracted per milliliter of hexane was decreased from 20 to 1 in the preparation of extracts concentrated to 0.4 female/l. Sexually mature female decoys of the 009 strain, the most laboratory-adapted of three strains examined in intrastrain tests, produced few copulatory attempts compared with those of Aricruz or DE-9 strains. However, newly emerged 009 as well as Aricruz females elicited responses from about 80% of sexually mature males. Those of the DE-9 strain stimulated fewer than 1%. The observation that 009 females were maximally stimulatory before becoming receptive to mating suggests that these strain differences resulted from laboratory colonization.     

Sex pheromone biology and behavior of the cowpea weevilCallosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

Female cowpea weevils,Callosobruchus maculatus (F.), emitted a pheromone which excited males. Pheromone release began soon after emergence and continued for one week. Synchronization of pheromone release with calling behavior was demonstrated. Mating reduced pheromone release but not male response. Pheromone obtained by aeration collection was utilized for determining a quantitative dose-response relationship.Mention of a commercial product does not constitute an endorsement by the USDA.Visiting scholar on leave from Shanghai Institute of Entomology, PRC.     

Behavioral and electroantennogram responses of periplanone analogs

The biological activities of synthetic periplanone analogs, including four candidates of periplanone-A (P-A), were evaluated by behavioral and electroantennogram (EAG) assays. Among 16 periplanone analogs, six compounds evoked pheromonal activity from the male American cockroaches. The threshold dosages of these biological active analogs were 10–10⁵ times lower than that of the known periplanone mimic, germacrene-D. The conformation required for eliciting the pheromonal activity is discussed in terms of the structure-activity relationship of these analogs. Hauptmann's P-A elicited the strongest pheromonal activity among four candidates of P-A in our bioassay, suggesting that Hauptmann's P-A is a natural P-A produced from female cockroaches.