4 documents found, page 1 of 1
Sub-lethal doses of imidacloprid alter food selection in the invasive garden an...
Frizzi, Filippo; Balzani, Paride; Masoni, Alberto; Frasconi Wendt, Clara; Marconi, Matilde; Rossi, Asia; Santini, GiacomoDespite several restrictions to their use, neonicotinoid insecticides are still widely employed worldwide. Residual sub-lethal amounts of these chemicals can have detrimental effects on the behavior of non-target insects. Toxic effects on economically important species such as bees have been widely documented, but less is known about their toxic action on other social insects, such as ants. In this study, we as...
Palatability of glyphosate in ants: a field experiment reveals broad acceptance...
Frizzi, Filippo; Masoni, Alberto; Balzani, Paride; Frasconi Wendt, Clara; Palchetti, Valeria; Santini, GiacomoGlyphosate is a systemic herbicide still used in many countries, though there are several known detrimental effects on animals. Previous studies concerning its effects on social insects are available, but they are primarily focused on honeybees; little is known about the interactions of this compound with ants. Here, we assessed whether different concentrations of glyphosate can be perceived by ant workers and ...
A comparative study of the fauna associated with nest mounds of native and intr...
Frizzi, Filippo; Masoni, Alberto; Migliorini, Massimo; Fanciulli, Pietro Paolo; Cianferoni, Fabio; Balzani, Paride; Giannotti, Stefano; Davini, GiovannaIn the second half of the twentieth century, many red wood ant populations were transferred from the Alps to the Apennines as biological control agents. Since the introduction involved the relocation of entire nest mounds, it is presumable that the associated fauna was also relocated. While the introduction of these ants has raised several concerns about their ecological impact, there has been no attempt to inv...
Application of CO 2 carbon stable isotope analysis to ant trophic ecology
Balzani, Paride; Venturi, Stefania; Muzzicato, Daniela; Tassi, Franco; Vaselli, Orlando; Frizzi, Filippo; Frasconi Wendt, Clara; Nisi, BarbaraStable isotope analysis of animal tissues is commonly used to infer diet and trophic position. However, it requires destructive sampling. The analysis of carbon isotopes from exhaled CO2 is non-invasive and can provide useful ecological information because isotopic CO2 signatures can reflect the diet and metabolism of an animal. However, this methodology has rarely been used on invertebrates and never on social...