southern New England (Smedley et al, 2002). The substance causes excessive cleaning activity by the ant, suggesting the chemical is an irritant, but it does not kill them. The chemicalÆs three primary components, which are three polyazamacrolide alkaloids, are responsible for this excessive activity by the ants who have come in contact with the ladybirds. If the substance is added to foods which are normally attractive to the ants, they reject the food. This species of ladybird is an interesting case because it is not native to New England, yet the toxins it produces are effective against the native ant species.
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Highfield, Roger. (2002). ôBug killer with a sting in the tale.ö News.telegraph.com http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main/html?xml
Insect chemical warfare. (2003). http://www.frontiernet/~docbob/insect.htm
Smedley, Scott R., Laffleur, Katie A., Gibbons, Leah K., Arce, Joseph E., et al. (2002
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