Ants, More Effective Than Pesticides Reporterre

Aug 17, 2022 at 4:46 p.m., updated Aug 18, 2022 at 10:01 a.m

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farm animals

According to the first systematic study of ants’ contribution to agricultural production, ants are more effective allies than pesticides in helping farmers protect the food they produce. And with good reason: they are responsible for killing parasites, reducing the damage they cause to plants and thereby increasing crop yields.

To achieve these results, published in Proceedings of Royal Society B and reported by The Guardian on August 17, the researchers analyzed the presence of 26 species of ants – mostly arboreal – spread across 17 crops – including citrus, mango, Apple and soy — in countries like the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. The scientists compared groups of plants in which these insects were present with others in which they had been mechanically or chemically removed. Result: The greater the diversity of ants, the better it protects crops from a wider spectrum of pests.

But then how to encourage the presence of these Formicidae? Researchers have found that these little beasts do better in diversified farming systems like agroforestry — where trees and plants are grown together — and shade-grown crops, where they find more nesting sites and resources.

Ants galore

Be careful though, ants are not always a panacea. Their presence also encourages certain pests like scale insects, aphids, and whiteflies, which produce a sugary water called honeydew and are generally more common when ants are around. The ants, loving this honeydew, breed the aphids like cattle and in return protect them from their enemies. But according to the study, there are solutions, such as providing ants with an alternative source of sugar (on the ground, near the trunk of a tree, or on its branches) that can discourage them from breeding aphids. .

Ants outnumber all other insects and make up half of the planet’s insect biomass. There are at least 14,000 known species of ants, and many more are probably still unknown. In China, citrus farmers have been using them in their agricultural activities for centuries. These insects have also been used to control pests infesting forests in Canada, cocoa produced in Ghana, and fields in Nigeria.

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