Acceptability of different sugars and oils to three tropical ant species (Hymen, Formicidae)

Baits are generally more effective than insecticidal sprays and dusts for controlling ant infestations. It is important to use a highly acceptable food attractant in order for baits to be effective. We examined the acceptability of 6 sugars and oils to 3 ant species, Pheidole megacephala (Fab.), Ochetellus glaber (Mayr), and Paratrechina longicornis (Latr.). One of these sugars, melezitose, is a trisaccharide found only in the honey-dew of homopterous insects. P. megacephala showed a significant preference for melezitose over glucose, maltose, and trehalose, but not over fructose and sucrose. O. glaber significantly preferred sucrose over maltose and P. longicornis did not show any significant preferences for the different sugars. P. megacephala showed a significant preference for olive oil. Neither O. glaber nor P. longicornis showed a preference for the different oils and there were very low numbers of O. glaber and P. longicornis workers attracted to oil treated disks. Hence, oil-based baits would probably not be effective for controlling either of these latter two ant species.