{"title":"Presence after three decades of red wood ants (Formica rufa group; Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in forests in an agricultural landscape","authors":"Harry J.M. VAN BUGGENUM","doi":"10.14411/eje.2022.009","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Conducting a repeat study of the presence of mound-building red wood ants (Formica rufa group) after a period of 30 years has rarely been done in Europe. From 1990 to 2020 such a study was done in an intensively used agricultural landscape with fragments of forest in the South-Eastern part of The Netherlands. In 1990, 280 nest mounds of three species of red wood ants and a hybrid were found in the forests and along forest edges. The highest occupancy was in forests of > 25 ha. The connectivity between the forest fragments mainly determined their presence. In 2020, only 160 nest mounds were found. The development of the colonies differed for Formica polyctena Förster, 1850 (slight decrease), F. rufa Linnaeus, 1761 (substantial increase) and F. pratensis Retzius, 1783 (strong decrease). The differences between the species in this highly fragmented landscape may be due to differences in their colonization strategies of either nest splitting or producing swarms of young queens. Furthermore, the analyses show that the type of environment (in a forest or along a forest edge) determines the probability of extinction or settlement. There is a need to undertake management measures to prevent the extinction of species of red wood ants in the area studied. These measures include creating small clearings in dense forests, reducing shading due to overgrowing shrubs or herbaceous plants, and creating buffer zones around intensively manured fi elds. More long-term monitoring is needed in Europe to compare the circumstances in different regions, detect trends and evaluate the effects of protection measures.","PeriodicalId":11940,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Entomology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Journal of Entomology","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2022.009","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
Conducting a repeat study of the presence of mound-building red wood ants (Formica rufa group) after a period of 30 years has rarely been done in Europe. From 1990 to 2020 such a study was done in an intensively used agricultural landscape with fragments of forest in the South-Eastern part of The Netherlands. In 1990, 280 nest mounds of three species of red wood ants and a hybrid were found in the forests and along forest edges. The highest occupancy was in forests of > 25 ha. The connectivity between the forest fragments mainly determined their presence. In 2020, only 160 nest mounds were found. The development of the colonies differed for Formica polyctena Förster, 1850 (slight decrease), F. rufa Linnaeus, 1761 (substantial increase) and F. pratensis Retzius, 1783 (strong decrease). The differences between the species in this highly fragmented landscape may be due to differences in their colonization strategies of either nest splitting or producing swarms of young queens. Furthermore, the analyses show that the type of environment (in a forest or along a forest edge) determines the probability of extinction or settlement. There is a need to undertake management measures to prevent the extinction of species of red wood ants in the area studied. These measures include creating small clearings in dense forests, reducing shading due to overgrowing shrubs or herbaceous plants, and creating buffer zones around intensively manured fi elds. More long-term monitoring is needed in Europe to compare the circumstances in different regions, detect trends and evaluate the effects of protection measures.
期刊介绍:
EJE publishes original articles, reviews and points of view on all aspects of entomology. There are no restrictions on geographic region or taxon (Myriapoda, Chelicerata and terrestrial Crustacea included). Comprehensive studies and comparative/experimental approaches are preferred and the following types of manuscripts will usually be declined:
- Descriptive alpha-taxonomic studies unless the paper is markedly comprehensive/revisional taxonomically or regionally, and/or significantly improves our knowledge of comparative morphology, relationships or biogeography of the higher taxon concerned;
- Other purely or predominantly descriptive or enumerative papers [such as (ultra)structural and functional details, life tables, host records, distributional records and faunistic surveys, compiled checklists, etc.] unless they are exceptionally comprehensive or concern data or taxa of particular entomological (e.g., phylogenetic) interest;
- Papers evaluating the effect of chemicals (including pesticides, plant extracts, attractants or repellents, etc.), irradiation, pathogens, or dealing with other data of predominantly agro-economic impact without general entomological relevance.