Study On Species Diversity Of Family Formicidae In The Major Tea Areas Of Chongqing

Chongqing is one of the most suitable regions for tea cultivation in China, the tea industry occupies an important position in the local agricultural economy. But the control methods of tea pests which are mainly rely on chemical control have seriously restricted the sustainable development of the tea industry for a long time. Carrying out researches about green control techniques actively is one of the important factors to guarantee the development of Chongqing tea industry healthily and steadily. Ants can prey on a variety of tea pests and have played an important role in integrated pest management in a variety of plant, so carrying out basic researches of using Formicidae to control tea pests has important theoretical significance to promote biological control of tea pests, it also can enrich the natural enemy resources and increase the tea garden pest control methods.In this study, ant species diversity of tea gardens in Yongchuan, Rongchang, Banan, Nanchuan and Wanzhou which are major tea areas of Chongqing are carried out for the first time.The main conclusions are as bellow.(1) Endemic species analysis.①Partial endemic species numbers are different on the vertical bands of tea gardens at5regions in Chongqing. On the vertical bands of Yongchuan, Rongchang and Wanzhou. partial endemic species numbers in the middle altitude tea gardens are more than upper and lower portions, and they show a reducing trend along with altitude increasing or decreasing. At Banan, partial endemic species numbers increase along with the altitude rising. At Nanchuang, in contrast, partial endemic species numbers decrease along with the altitude rising.②On the horizontal bands, most partial endemic species numbers of different regions are different with each other, especially within the range of550-850m.③As can be seen by the whole endemic species numbers, there are some differences between ant communities of tea gardens at different altitudes in the same region.(2) Dominant species analysis. The dominant species numbers have no obvious relationship with altitude and region. There are12dominant species which belong to3subfamilies and8genera in the20sample plots of tea gardens. The most common dominant species at tea gardens of Yongchuan, Rongchang, Banan, Nanchuan and Wanzhou are respectively Tetramorium smithi Mayr, Tetramorium inglebyi Forel, Tetramorium inglebyi Forel, Pheidole lighti Wheeler and Pheidole lighti Wheeler.(3) Species diversity analysis.①on the vertical bands of tea gardens at5regions in Chongqing, species numbers range between4-15, individual densities range between44.4-1283.4heads/m2, predominant indexes range between0.257-0.930, species diversity indexes range between0.198-1.47, and evenness indexes range between0.110-0.752. Community indicators of Yongchuan, Rongchang and Wanzhou show a consistent trend:species numbers, individual densities and predominant indexes in the middle altitude tea gardens are more than upper and lower portions and show a reducing trend along with altitude increasing or decreasing, in contrast, species diversity indexes and evenness indexes in the middle altitude tea gardens are less than upper and lower portions and show a increasing trend along with altitude increasing or decreasing. Communities indicators of Banan show a opposite trend with Yongchuan, Rongchang and Wanzhou. At Nanchuan, species number is higher in the middle portion, individual densities increase with the altitude rising, species diversity indexes and evenness indexes decrease with the altitude rising, predominant indexes lack regularity with altitude rising.②On the horizontal bands, almost all the community indicators don’t show certain regularity. The phenomenon is closely related with different natural environments of different regions.(4) Similarity coefficient analysis.①Among the33similarity coefficients between ant communities on vertical bands of the5regions in Chongqing, there are3of which occupying9.1%representing a moderate similar level,12of which occupying36.4%representing a moderate dissimilar level, and18of which occupying54.5%representing a dissimilar level.②Among the16similarity coefficients between ant communities on horizontal bands of the5regions in Chongqing, there are2of which occupying12.5%representing a moderate dissimilar level,14of which occupying87.5%representing a dissimilar level. The ant communities of different regions differ greatly from each other and mainly caused by the differences of natural conditions and climatic characteristics among these regions.