skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Distribution of /sup 32/P in laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) after feeding on labeled Heliothis zeal (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs: an explanation of discrepancies encountered in field predation experiments

Abstract

Factors responsible for low recovery rates of radioactive Solenopsis invicta Buren following placement of /sup 32/P-labeled Heliothis zea (Boddie) eggs on cotton in field predation tests were investigated using laboratory colonies of the ants. S. invicta workers became radioactive while handling labeled eggs by rupturing the egg chorion or by picking up labeled substances present on the surface of eggs. Foragers that removed the eggs from the plants picked up significantly more of the label than did workers that were sampled from the colonies between 12 and 72 h after egg introduction. Percentage of workers that became labeled over time was much lower with the solid live food than in other studies that used powdered food sources. Problems in finding labeled ants in the field may have been associated with low mean levels of /sup 32/P per ant, together with difficulty in locating and isolating labeled ants from the population. Results indicate that egg predation rates estimated from counts per minute per predator have high variability, and suggest fairly large errors in estimates of eggs consumed per ant. Use of recovery rates of labeled predators to improve estimation of predation rates is discussed.

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Texas A and M Univ., College Station
OSTI Identifier:
6693590
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Environ. Entomol.; (United States)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 15:6
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; 60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES; ANTS; PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTIONS; LEPIDOPTERA; PHOSPHORUS 32; TISSUE DISTRIBUTION; COTTON PLANTS; EGGS; TRACER TECHNIQUES; ANIMALS; ARTHROPODS; BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; DISTRIBUTION; HYMENOPTERA; INSECTS; INVERTEBRATES; ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS; ISOTOPES; LIGHT NUCLEI; NUCLEI; ODD-ODD NUCLEI; PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES; PLANTS; RADIOISOTOPES; 560162* - Radionuclide Effects, Kinetics, & Toxicology- Animals, Plants, Microorganisms, & Cells; 553003 - Agriculture & Food Technology- Pest & Disease Control- (1987-)

Citation Formats

Nuessly, G S, and Sterling, W L. Distribution of /sup 32/P in laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) after feeding on labeled Heliothis zeal (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs: an explanation of discrepancies encountered in field predation experiments. United States: N. p., 1986. Web.
Nuessly, G S, & Sterling, W L. Distribution of /sup 32/P in laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) after feeding on labeled Heliothis zeal (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs: an explanation of discrepancies encountered in field predation experiments. United States.
Nuessly, G S, and Sterling, W L. 1986. "Distribution of /sup 32/P in laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) after feeding on labeled Heliothis zeal (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs: an explanation of discrepancies encountered in field predation experiments". United States.
@article{osti_6693590,
title = {Distribution of /sup 32/P in laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) after feeding on labeled Heliothis zeal (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs: an explanation of discrepancies encountered in field predation experiments},
author = {Nuessly, G S and Sterling, W L},
abstractNote = {Factors responsible for low recovery rates of radioactive Solenopsis invicta Buren following placement of /sup 32/P-labeled Heliothis zea (Boddie) eggs on cotton in field predation tests were investigated using laboratory colonies of the ants. S. invicta workers became radioactive while handling labeled eggs by rupturing the egg chorion or by picking up labeled substances present on the surface of eggs. Foragers that removed the eggs from the plants picked up significantly more of the label than did workers that were sampled from the colonies between 12 and 72 h after egg introduction. Percentage of workers that became labeled over time was much lower with the solid live food than in other studies that used powdered food sources. Problems in finding labeled ants in the field may have been associated with low mean levels of /sup 32/P per ant, together with difficulty in locating and isolating labeled ants from the population. Results indicate that egg predation rates estimated from counts per minute per predator have high variability, and suggest fairly large errors in estimates of eggs consumed per ant. Use of recovery rates of labeled predators to improve estimation of predation rates is discussed.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6693590}, journal = {Environ. Entomol.; (United States)},
number = ,
volume = 15:6,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1986},
month = {Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1986}
}