Abstract
Conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) were assessed against Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Arachnida: Ixodidae) eggs under laboratory conditions. Clusters of 25 eggs were applied either directly with the fungal conidial formulations or set on previously fungus-treated filter paper. Treatments consisted of conidia formulated in water or an oil-in-water emulsion at final concentrations of 3.3 × 103, 104, 3.3 × 104, 105, or 3.3 × 105 conidia/cm2. The development of mycelium and new conidia on egg clusters incubated at 25 °C and humidity close to saturation depended on conidial concentration, formulation, and application technique. No larvae eclosed from eggs after direct applications of conidia regardless of the formulation. The eclosion and survival of larvae from indirectly treated egg clusters depended on the type of formulation and conidial concentration applied. Oil-in-water formulations of conidia demonstrated the highest activity against eggs of R. sanguineus.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil) for financial support, Center of Control of Zoonosis (CCZ) in Goiânia (Goiás, Brazil) for providing material, and Richard A Humber (USDA-ARS, Ithaca, NY, USA) for the critical review of the manuscript.
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Luz, C., D’Alessandro, W.B., Rodrigues, J. et al. Efficacy of water- and oil-in-water-formulated Metarhizium anisopliae in Rhipicephalus sanguineus eggs and eclosing larvae. Parasitol Res 115, 143–149 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4729-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4729-z