[Effects of lac insect honeydew on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants in lac plantation].

ABSTRACT

By the method of pitfall trapping, an investigation was conducted on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants in a lac plantation in Yayi Town of Mojiang County, Yunnan Province of Southwest China in December 2009-May 2010, aimed to understand the effects of lac insect honeydew on the diversity of ground-dwelling ants. The presence or absence of lac insect honeydew and its dynamics all affected the species composition, abundance, and diversity of ground-dwelling ants. In the lac plantation with lac insect hosting, a total of 4953 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 34 species, 23 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae; whereas in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, a total of 2416 ant individuals were collected, belonging to 30 species, 20 genera, and 5 subfamilies of Formicidae. The relative abundance, species richness (S), and ACE index in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting were higher than those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, and the common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants in the lac plantation with lac insect hosting differed from those in the lac plantation without lac insect hosting, suggesting that lac insect hosting altered the community structure of ground-dwelling ants. The adult lac insects excreted larger quantity of honeydew than the larval lac insects, and the relative abundance, S, and ACE index of ground-dwelling ants were higher at the adult stage than at the larval stage of lac insects. The common species and indicator species of ground-dwelling ants also had great differences between the two stages of lac insects.