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Video Q&A ViewAttendees 2

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: Biocontrol On-Demand Presentations

New thrips on the block: Ant community response to the introduction of a Brazilian peppertree biological control agent

On-Demand
On-Demand

While classical biological control agents are thoroughly vetted to ensure there are no risks of direct non-target effects, predicting the indirect effects associated with how the agent integrates into established food webs is difficult and relies on empirical data from post-release assessments. Our objective was to determine how Pseudophilothrips ichini (Hood) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), a newly released biological control agent of the highly invasive Brazilian peppertree, integrates with arthropod communities in southern Florida. Given their ubiquity in terrestrial ecosystems, we focused on ants by comparing their diversity before and after thrips release and began investigating potential predator-prey interactions in the laboratory. Three sites in Big Cypress National Preserve and one site in St. Lucie Co., FL, were surveyed monthly from October 2018 to October 2020. Thrips were first released in September 2019 and releases continued every 1-5 mo thereafter. Ants foraging on Brazilian pepper were collected using the beat sheet method, where 31 species were identified. Despite some seasonal turnover, there were no overall changes in the ant communities the year following thrips releases. For a subset of ant species, interactions between several workers and thrips were observed in the laboratory and this was followed by a pilot assay with two captive queenright colonies foraging into arenas with thrips on host plants. Pheidole spp. were the only ants tested that preyed on thrips. Future directions are to determine the ant species most likely to impact the establishment of P. ichini in the wild and continue monitoring for changes in arthropod communities.