Techniques for raising and releasing yellow ants to control pests on fruit trees

Weaver ants are a type of insect that has been around for a long time. Many gardeners have seen the benefits of weaver ants in fruit orchards. However, farmers do not know the role of weaver ants, as a natural enemy that helps farmers kill pests and protect crops without using chemicals.

Nowadays, the demand for delicious and clean fruits (without pesticide residues) and less use of chemicals is increasing. Therefore, restoring the breeding of weaver ants in fruit gardens to limit the damage caused by some major pests is very necessary.

Weaver ants have the scientific name Oecophylla smaragdina, belong to the Hymenoptera order, Formicidae family. Weaver ants have the ability to attack many common pests on fruit trees.

Yellow ants have 3 individual forms: Worker ants (small and large), Male ants and Queen ants. Large worker ants manage together and take charge of building the nest; meanwhile, managing the larvae and moving them back and forth is taken care of by small worker ants. Not all nests have Queen ants, only some nests have Queen ants, some nests have over 90 Queen ants. The density of worker ants increases in March and April, possibly due to a few early rains, trees sprouting, attracting some insects to cause enough food for Yellow ants. With this food source, the density of worker ants increases rapidly and when the density of ants in the nest is too high, the ants divide the colony to build a new colony or new nest. This time is also the time when the division of colonies is most obvious and also the most ideal time to create a new colony. The best time to release Yellow ants into the garden is in September and October, because at this time the ant colony has Queen ants.

How to raise yellow ants in the garden:

You should collect green leaf ant nests, with an average size of 20 cm or more, made up of 2 layers of leaves, because these nests are more likely to have Queen ants.

Odorous ants kill yellow ants, so odorous ants must be killed before releasing yellow ants. New yellow ants and existing yellow ants on the tree are also incompatible, they kill each other and while "fighting" they secrete formic acid which causes the tree branches to become tanned, then dry out and die; so they must be killed before releasing new ants. If you cannot kill all the old ants, you must release new ants from above so that the new ants can chase the old ants down to the base of the tree.

To avoid ants from killing each other, when collecting ant nests, you should collect nests from the same tree and put them in the same bag so that these ant nests are in the same group. Queen ants, male ants and worker ants all have the highest density from July to October, this is also the most suitable time to collect ant nests and release them into the new garden. Release at least 2 nests and place them in the third and fourth branches of the tree. You need to feed the Yellow Ants by hanging chicken intestines, duck intestines, fish heads... on the tree, especially in the dry season when there is a lack of food, the ants will leave, but do not feed them regularly, only feed them once every few months because if you feed them too much, the ants will be lazy and not move and hunt for prey.

In order for ants to have conditions to develop and distribute evenly in the garden, it is necessary to create conditions for ants to move from tree to tree to hunt and make nests (by stretching ropes or placing trees from tree to tree, ants will move back and forth along that path). Weaver ants can live in all types of gardens: monoculture, intercropping and mixed gardens. However, in monoculture gardens with other trees such as Plum, Mango, Coc or Custard Apple, Quao, Cotton on the banks of the ditches around the garden, the density of weaver ants is higher.

Yellow ants are very sensitive to pesticides, so the use of chemicals should be minimized. When it is necessary to use them, use mineral oil or less toxic chemicals for ants (synthetic pyrethroid drugs kill ants most strongly and quickly), spray in the afternoon, when the ants are less active and have gathered in the nest, or early in the morning. Avoid spraying directly on the nest. To use yellow ants effectively, it is important to pay attention to the ant density, which must be sufficient, evenly distributed in the garden and stable all year round.

Raising weaver ants in citrus orchards is a highly effective biological method, low cost and especially does not cause environmental pollution, suitable for the trend of sustainable agricultural production.

According to Channuoi - LY