Prey of the red imported fire ant (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) in Oklahoma peanuts

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is an important predat or in some cropping systems in the United States, particularly sugarcane an d cotton, where it preys on key pests such as the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), and beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner). A study w as undertaken to characterize the prey items collected by foraging S. invic ta ill an Oklahoma peanut field. From June to September 1999, 19 h of colle cting yielded 1,276 foraged items. The largest percentage of foraged items (>20%) (other than unidentifiable fragments [39%]) were lepidopteran larvae , of which 87% were Stegasta bosqueella Chambers, the rednecked peanutworm. Overall, S. invicta collected agproximately seven times more pest anthropo ds than benefcial anthropods. Forager success rates were approximate to3.8 times higher for solids than liquids. Refuse piles in the field contained a large percentage of Coleoptera (approximate to 26%) and did not mirror for aged material collections. Percent damaged, pods on plants growing within S . invicta mounds was significantly (approximately three times) lower than o n plants not within mounds. Additional data are presented on forager succes s rates and foraging/temperature relations.