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

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种生态友好型诱饵来控制入侵蚂蚁。商业毒饵是目前控制入侵蚂蚁最有效的方法，但由于缺乏特异性，这些毒饵对当地生物多样性造成了负面影响。这反过来又促进了入侵蚂蚁的快速再繁殖，因为没有竞争对手来限制它们的传播。此外，商业诱饵与潮湿或晴朗的气象条件不兼容，因为这些事件会使诱饵的活性成分失效，而且大多数商业诱饵主要在春季和夏季对蚂蚁有吸引力。拟议的技术通过提供一种蚂蚁诱饵配方和递送系统来解决这些问题，该系统1)防止潮湿和阳光，2)全年具有吸引力，以及3)专门针对入侵和有害蚂蚁种群。这项拟议的技术可以让害虫控制公司在一天或一年的任何时候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使用量，生态系统可以通过本地无脊椎动物种群的重新定居来恢复。这项i-Corps项目基于开发一种环保蚂蚁诱饵的配方和投放该诱饵的系统。通过对红火蚁(Solenopsis invicta，以下简称RIFA)在一年中不同时间所需的关键常量营养素的表征，提高了诱饵的吸引力。对各种蛋白质、脂肪和碳水化合物进行了单独或联合测试，以创造出一种在野外条件下对RIFA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常量营养素，确保了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，这种诱饵不是在受感染的区域播撒，而是放置在一个打开的、小的、可生物降解的小瓶的底部。投放诱饵的瓶子限制觅食蚂蚁竞争获得诱饵，被动地选择最丰富和最具竞争力的物种：入侵蚂蚁。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.