I-Corps: Control of invasive ants using an environmentally friendly bait approach

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种生态友好型诱饵，用于控制入侵蚂蚁。商业毒饵是目前控制入侵蚂蚁的最有效方法，但由于缺乏特异性，这些毒饵对本地生物多样性产生了负面影响。这反过来又促进了入侵蚂蚁的快速扩散，因为没有竞争对手来限制它们的传播。此外，商业上可获得的诱饵与潮湿或阳光充足的气象条件不相容，因为这些事件使诱饵的活性成分失活，并且大多数商业诱饵主要在春季和夏季对蚂蚁有吸引力。所提出的技术通过递送蚂蚁诱饵制剂和递送系统提供了对这些问题的解决方案，所述蚂蚁诱饵制剂和递送系统1）免受湿气和阳光的影响，2）全年有吸引力，以及3）专门针对入侵和有害蚂蚁种群。拟议的技术可以允许害虫控制公司在一天或一年中的任何时间为公园和庭院提供服务，庭院所有者可以减少每年的杀虫剂施用量，和生态系统，通过本地无脊椎动物种群的退化来恢复。这个I-Corps项目是基于开发一种生态-通过表征入侵红火蚁（Solenopsis invicta，以下简称红火蚁）在一年中不同时间所需的关键常量营养素来提高诱饵的吸引力。单独或组合测试了各种蛋白质、脂质和碳水化合物，以产生在野外条件下对红火蚁种群具有高度吸引力的诱饵。选定的配方结合了每个季节对蚂蚁最重要的大量营养素，确保诱饵在一年中的任何时候都保持高吸引力。与目前可用的产品不同，这种诱饵不是在感染区域传播，而是放置在一个打开的，小的和可生物降解的小瓶的底部。将诱饵放入小瓶中会限制觅食的蚂蚁竞争获得诱饵，被动地选择最丰富和最有竞争力的物种：入侵蚂蚁。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an eco-friendly bait for the control of invasive ants. Commercial toxic baits are currently the most efficient way to control invasive ants, but these baits negatively impact native biodiversity due to their lack of specificity. This, in turn, facilitates quick recolonization by invasive ants because no competitors are left to limit their spread. In addition, commercially available baits are incompatible with wet or sunny meteorological conditions as these events deactivate the bait’s active ingredient, and most commercial baits are attractive to ants mainly in spring and summer. The proposed technology provides a solution to these issues by delivering an ant bait formulation and delivery system that is 1) protected from moisture and sun, 2) attractive year-round, and 3) specifically targets invasive and pest ant populations. The proposed technology may allow pest-control companies to service parks and yards at any time of the day or year, yard owners to reduce the amount of insecticide applications per year, and ecosystems to recover through the recolonization of native invertebrate populations.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a formulation for an eco-friendly ant bait and a system to deliver it. The attractiveness of the bait was improved by the characterization of the key macronutrients required by Red Imported Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta, hereafter RIFA) at different times of the year. Various proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates were tested, alone or in combination to create a bait that is highly attractive to RIFA populations in field conditions. The selected formulation combines the macronutrients that are the most important to the ants during each season, which ensures the attractiveness of the bait remains high at any time during the year. Unlike currently available products, this bait is not broadcasted over the infested area but is placed at the bottom of an opened, small, and biodegradable vial. The delivery of the bait into vials constrains foraging ants to compete for the access to the bait, passively selecting for the most abundant and competitive species: invasive ants.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.