Abstract:
The tolerance of invasive species to the environment is an important condition for their successful invasion. To explore the tolerance of the red imported fire ant
Solenopsis invicta to absolute ethanol, the coma time, sub−recovery time and full−recovery time of red imported fire ants and 3 other species of ants (
Solenopsis tipuna,
Camponotus confucii and
Plagiolepis rothneyi) were measured and compared. The results showed that: (1) There was significant difference in the tolerance to absolute ethanol of the 4 species of ants. The coma time of
S. invicta was (99.37±2.56) s, significantly longer than the other 3 species. (2) The sub−recovery proportion and full−recovery propotion among the 4 species showed significant difference. The sub−recovery proportion of
S. invicta and
P. rothneyi was 81.71%±3.13% and 82.89%±0.60%, respectively, significantly higher than that of
S. tipuna and
C. confucii. The full−recovery proportion of
S. invicta was 80.71%±3.34%, significantly higher than the other 3 species.
C. confucii could not resuscitate after being soaked in absolute ethanol. (3) Sub-recovery time and full−recovery time showed significant difference between 3 other ant species, the sub−recovery time of
S. invicta and
P. rothneyi was (155.99±3.89) s and (155.80±3.14) s, respectively, significantly higher than that of
S. tipuna. (4) The tolerance between the worker ants of two different sizes of
S. invicta was significantly different, the coma time of major workers was (109.22±3.29) s, significantly higher than that of the minor workers; The sub−recovery time of major workers was (171.23±5.61) s, significantly higher than that of the minor workers. It is concluded that the tolerance of
S. invicta to absolute ethanol stress was significantly higher than other local ants. This study will help to deepen our understanding of the invasion ability of
S. invicta and provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of
S. invicta.