Experiment 4 results — antimycotic activity of formic acid
and venom in vitro
Aspergillus was less susceptible to the effects of formic
acid, with a concentration of at least 10% formic acid being
required to completely inhibit germination whereas a concentration of 2% formic acid was sufficient to completely
inhibit germination of Metarhizium (Fig. 4). The venom gland reservoir of P. dives workers contained
approximately 0.47 μl of secretion. The venom of P. dives
completely inhibited the germination of both Aspergillus
and Metarhizium, and thus had similar antimycotic activity
to at least 10% formic acid.