As the range of Ixodes scapularis Say expands, host abundance and land use can play important roles in regions where ticks and their associated pathogens are emerging. Small mammal hosts serve as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens, with Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque often considered a primary reservoir. A sympatric species Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner is also a competent reservoir and is notoriously difficult to differentiate from P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe browntail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea L.) is an invasive species which over the past five years, has been undergoing outbreaks on a scale not seen in the northeastern U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe browntail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea (L.)) is a forest pest that was accidentally introduced in the late 1800's and spread throughout New England in the early part of the 20th Century. At its peak range expansion in 1915 it encompassed an area of 150,000 km2 after which populations declined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe necromenic nematode has been frequently found in nests of the invasive European ant in coastal Maine, United States, and may contribute to ant mortality and collapse of colonies by transferring environmental bacteria. and several other bacterial species were found in the digestive tracts of nematodes harvested from collapsed ant colonies. , , and were collected from the hemolymph of nematode-infected wax moth () larvae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the invasive European fire ant (Myrmica rubra) are both expanding throughout their sympatric range in coastal New England. Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the causative agent of Lyme disease, and Mount Desert Island, Maine, home to Acadia National Park, currently is affected by a high Lyme disease burden. Ticks have many natural predators, including ants, although no previous studies have investigated interactions between these two species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpearmint oil, peppermint oil, neem oil, and d-limonene were tested as nest site repellents against the colonization of the invasive European red ant, Myrmica rubra (L.) in both laboratory and field trials. In a laboratory assay, a 10% (v/v) solution of each extract repelled M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe winter moth, Operophtera brumata (L.) is an invasive forest and agricultural pest in North America that causes severe defoliation to a wide range of host species. This study examines the differential larval densities, development, and survival on seven host species in midcoast Maine: red oak (Quercus rubra L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated the impact of an invasive ant species from Europe, Myrmica rubra (L.), on a myrmecochorous system (seeds dispersed by ants) in its invaded range in North America. We assessed: 1) how M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHirsutella (Ophiocordycipitaceae: Hypocreales) is a genus of insect, mite, and nematode pathogens with an asexual morph, which generally produce a mucilaginous cluster of one or several conidia on phialides that are basally subulate and taper to a fine neck. The generic name Hirsutella has been proposed for suppression in favour of Ophiocordyceps as a consequence of the ending of dual nomenclature for different morphs of pleomorphic fungi in 2011. Though the generic name is well established, geographically dispersed, and speciose, exceptionally few sequences are available in online databases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Invertebr Pathol
February 2015
Myrmica rubra L. (Formicidae: Hymenoptera), an invasive ant species in Maine, has been problematic in coastal communities over the past 15years and the subject of studies on its ecology, effects, and management. In recent years we observed a fungus growing from moribund M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExotic ants have become invasive in many regions around the world, with variable ecological impacts. Postinvasion, native ant communities are often found to be depauperate, though the causes of this apparent lack of coexistence are rarely well known. Myrmica rubra (L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyrmica rubra (L.), is an invasive ant that is spreading across eastern North America. It is presently found in over 40 communities in Maine and areas in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and several provinces in the Canadian Maritimes and Ontario.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe red ant, Myrmica rubra, is an increasingly invasive pest species in north-eastern USA, where it is known as the European fire ant. During surveys for natural enemies in part of its native range in the UK, three previously unreported fungal pathogens developed on ants when incubated in the laboratory. These are described and illustrated: Paraisaria myrmicarum sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExotic ant species are a primary threat to ant biological diversity, posing a negative impact to native ant communities. In this study, we examine species richness of ants (family Formicidae) in Acadia National Park, ME, as a fundamental step toward understanding the present impact of the exotic species Myrmica rubra on native ant species. Twelve habitat types were sampled, along six transects, with pitfall traps, visual searching, bait traps, and leaf litter extraction, and the aid of 34 volunteers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyrmica rubra L. was introduced into New England in the early 20th century, and at present, has a patchy distribution in parts of northeastern North America, including records from 31 communities in Maine. M.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduced populations of the north temperate ant species, Myrmica rubra (L.), have become pestiferous in various locations in the northeastern United States, particularly in coastal communities in Maine. Native populations of this ant are widely distributed throughout northern Europe and western Asia; however, nest densities in its native range do not usually reach the high levels observed for many introduced populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe assessed the ability of Trichogramma ostriniae (Peng & Chen) to locate and parasitize Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) eggs in crops other than corn, and we evaluated the efficacy of inundative releases of the parasitoid in two solanaceous crops, pepper and potato. Despite a greater plant surface area to search, parasitism of O. nubilalis eggs was consistently higher in sweet corn than dicotyledonous crops such as pepper, snap bean, broccoli, potato, and melon, in choice and no-choice experiments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStarvation of second instar Colorado potato beetle larvae for 24h immediately after treatment with Beauveria bassiana conidia increased susceptibility to the pathogen and subsequent sporulation of cadavers but decreased time to larval death. In feeding studies, B. bassiana-treatment had no effect on subsequent larval development, and mortality occurred 5-6 days after treatment.
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