Ant Species Diversity in Coffee Plantation in Chiang Mai Province, Northern Thailand

Yuka Onishi; Weeyawat Jaitrong; Piyawan Suttiprapan; Sawai Buranapanichpan; Yaowaluk Chanbang; Fuminori Ito

Authors

Yuka Onishi Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand; Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Ikenobe, Miki, 761-0795 Japan
Weeyawat Jaitrong Thailand Natural History Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Khlong 5, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120 Thailand
Piyawan Suttiprapan Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand
Sawai Buranapanichpan Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand
Yaowaluk Chanbang Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand
Fuminori Ito Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Ikenobe, Miki, 761-0795 Japan

Keywords:

ant species diversity, arabica coffee plantations, northern Thailand, coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei

Abstract

Some coffee plantations in Thailand suffer problems caused by the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (CBB). Recently, the effects of ants on CBB have been intensively investigated in South America, however it does not investigate in Thailand. As a first step for evaluating ant effects on the CBB in Thailand, the ant species diversity was investigated in two coffee plantations, Pa Miang village, Doi Saket district, and Highland Research and Training Station Khun Chang Kian Site A, in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. Ants were collected by two quantitative sampling methods, collection on coffee tree trunks and collection by using a hand sifter during both the dry and rainy season in Pa Miang, and during the rainy season only in Khun Chang Kian. In Pa Miang, the number of ant species collected in the dry and the rainy season was 64 and 58, respectively, while in Khun Chang Kian, 44 species were collected in the rainy season. In total, 121 species of ants were obtained from the two coffee plantations. Ant species diversity in these coffee plantations is comparable to that in the other land use types in and around Chiang Mai. The head width of these 121 ant species were measured to determine which ant species are able to enter galleries inhabited by CBB. Among the ant species collected in two coffee plantations, 67 species had smaller head width than the CBB body width.

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