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Biocontrol of Ticks by Entomopathogenic Nematodes: Research Update
Author(s) -
SAMISH MICHAEL,
ALEKSEEV EVGENY,
GLAZER ITAMAR
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb05341.x
Subject(s) - biology , rhipicephalus sanguineus , tick , biological pest control , virulence , ixodidae , nematode , veterinary medicine , entomopathogenic nematode , heterorhabditis bacteriophora , acari , manure , host (biology) , zoology , ecology , medicine , biochemistry , gene
A bstract : Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are lethal to ticks even though they do not use their normal propagation cycle within tick cadavers. The tick Boophilus annulatus was found to be far more susceptible to EPNs than Hyalomma excavatum, Rhipicephalus bursa , or Rhipicephalus sanguineus . Ticks seem to be less susceptible to nematodes when feeding on a host. Preimaginal tick stages were less susceptible to nematodes than adult ticks. The mortality rate of unfed females was highest, followed by unfed males, and engorged females. The virulence of nematodes to ticks varied greatly among different nematode strains. In most cases, the Heterorhabditis sp. strains were the most virulent strains tested in petri dishes. In buckets containing sandy soil sprayed with 50 nematodes/cm 2 and engorged B. annulatus females, the LT 50 of the ticks was less than five days. The addition of manure to soil or a manure extract to petri dishes reduced nematode virulence. Since ticks spend most of their life cycle in the upper humid layer of the ground, and many nematode strains share this same ecological niche, the use of EPNs for biocontrol of ticks appears promising.