Trials to Control South American Ticks

with Entomopathogenic Fungi

VNIA R.E.P. BITTENCOURTa
Departamento de Parasitologia Animal,
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

ABSTRACT: Ticks are parasites of great importance to man, domestic, and wild
animals. In spite of the progress of the science, thus far, ticks are controlled
mainly by chemical acaricides and when this technique is used in an indiscriminate way it can lead to ambiental pollution and development of tick resistance
to acaricides. The studies developed in the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio
de Janeiro demonstrate that some isolates of the fungi Metarhizium anisopli
and Beauveria bassiana are pathogens for ticks and their action effects the
mortality of ticks and reduces the populational levels in subsequent generations. In future, research needs to address the search of new pathogens; the
association of biological with chemical products seeking an synergistic action;
the search of formulations that propitiate increased stability, and careful studies on the safety of biological products for use in animals.

INTRODUCTION
Ticks are parasites of great importance to both man and domestic or wild animals.
In addition to their blood sucking habits, they are also vectors of bacteria, protozoa,
ricketsia, and viruses virtually everywhere in the world. Brazilian ticks of economic
importance are those from the Ixodidae Family. The main species found in domestic
animals are Boophilus microplus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma cajennense, and Anocentor nitens. Despite scientific progress, the use of chemical acaricides remains the major approach to the control of domestic animal tick infestations.
However, when chemicals are used in an indiscriminate way, this practise can lead
to both environmental and resistance problems. Therefore, the exclusive use of the
acaricides continues to become less viable, both for practical and economic reasons.
There is a need for alternative methods in integrated control systems.

THE USE OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI IN BRAZIL

Studies carried out at the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
demonstrated that some isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium
anisopli and Beauveria bassiana are pathogenic for all tick species tested. This
aAddress for correspondence: UFRRJIBDPA BR 465 Km 7, Seropdica, Rio de
Janeiro, Brasil, 23890-000. Voice and fax: 55-021-6821617.
vaniabit@ufrrj.br

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effect is shown not only in the treated evolutive stages, but also in a population
reduction in subsequent generations.
The action of the fungi Metarhizium anisopli on engorged females of B.
microplus was evaluated and a high mortality rate was observed, with 96.6% of control using a suspension of 108 conidia/ml.1 It was also verified that the extract causes
alterations in development stages usually found in pastures, such as eggs and nonengorged larv.2 The fungi caused the following alterations: higher preoviposition,
incubation, eclosion periods, shortening of the egg laying period, lower IER, and
lower percentage of eclosion.3 The dynamics of the infection of the tick B. microplus
by M. anisopli were also evaluated.4,5 This fungus could be evidenced and isolated
from the hmolinph on the second day after artificial infection. By the third day after
the infection, it was isolated and evidenced in organs. Concurrently, the presence of
fungi structures was not verified through histological examinations. These results
suggest that the main form of penetration of M. anisopli in ticks is through the tegument, as has already been described for other arthropods.
The mechanism of penetration of the isolate 959 of M. anisopli in B. microplus
was demonstrated by using scanning microscopy.6 The results confirm the cuticle
penetration hypothesis for this entomopathogenic fungi.
The in vitro action of Beauveria bassiana on B. microplus eggs was also evaluated. It was observed that the eclosion rate verified in the treated groups was much lower than that observed for controls.7 Treated engorged females presented a decrease
of egg laying period that was proportional to the increase in conidia concentration.
With respect to the incubation period, the length increased significantly as the conidia concentration was raised. Concerning reproductive and nutritional efficiency
indexes, a decrease was observed as the conidia concentration was increased. These
results have capital importance for the control of this tick species, since they point to
the possibility of reduction in the population growth rate under field conditions. The
results also evidenced a low hatching index for treated groups, with a progressive
decrease in this fall of such index as the concentration increases.8,9
In stall tests using two suspensions of M. anisopli and the tick B. microplus10 it
was verified that the group control presented larger survival rate for females than the
treated groups. The mean total efficacy found for the concentrations 108 and 107
conidia/ml were, respectively, 54.8% and 50.4%. These results demonstrate that
much of the activity of this entomopathogenic fungi takes place soon after the ecdysis, since the main form of penetration of this fungi is likely to be through the cuticle.
Therefore, the different stages of development are less affected when infected in the
preecdysis period, due to the growth of a new cuticle and shedding of the previous
exoskeleton during the molting process.
Metarhizium anisopli was evaluated on B. microplus larv found in pastures. 11
Suspensions at concentrations of 10 9, 107, and 105 conidia/ml were used. The fungi
was sprinkled on Brachiaria decumbens paddocks previously infested with larv of B.
microplus. The larv remaining alive were recovered and counted one week after the
treatment. A decrease in recovery was observed, the control group contained the greatest number of live larv, followed by the groups 10 5, 107, and then 109 conidia/ml.
The action of the isolated 959 of M. anisopli on B. microplus was also evaluated
in field tests,12 by spraying the conidia suspension on naturally infested animals.
Results were evaluated by calculating the control rate. Thirty engorged females from

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each group were collected on days 1, 7, and 14 and taken to the laboratory for evaluation. A significant difference was verified among the treatments for the indexes of
reproductive and nutritional efficiencies, for the preoviposition and egg laying periods, and in the weight of the females. Further studies are needed if this fungi is
intended to be used for the control of B. microplus under field conditions, but its
activity in the alteration of parameters of the nonparasitic phase is already confirmed. Concerning the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the efficacy of the fungi B.
bassiana and M. anisopli was evaluated on eggs and larv. They were immersed
in suspensions with different conidia concentrations.13,14 The eclosion rate among
the treated groups was inversely proportional to the concentration used. The higher
concentration has a smaller eclosion rate. Engorged larv of R. sanguineus were
also treated with suspensions of B. bassiana,15 and a decrease in the ecdysis rate was
observed as the conidia concentration of the suspension used was increased. Laboratory trials were recently conducted with M. anisopli and Beauveria bassiana on
Anocentor nitens16,17 and Amblyomma cajennense.18,19 It was shown that for all the
developmental stages tested, an action of the entomopathogenic fungi could be verified, causing either mortality or variations in parameters of the non parasitic phase,
usually leading to decrease in the number of individuals in the following generation.
The are few studies on agents of biological control that affect the ixodids and its
pathogenic action. Further studies on tick diseases and on their immune system are
needed in order to settle the basis for effective use of biological control. The in vitro
studies of the effects determined by the main pathogens isolated from ticks have
already been accomplished. In these studies, it was verified that fungi are more
promising agents for biological control, due to penetration mechanism through the
cuticle. An advantage to be attributed to the fungi, would be its ability to grow and
spread in the environment through infected ticks presents in the soil, and also its
capacity to cause epizooties due to its wide spectrum. With proper bioassay techniques, it is possible to select highly virulent fungi isolates, either specific or not, and
with desirable characteristics for use as insecticides.
The present research targets of the UFRRJ staff include the isolation of new entomopathogenic fungi from naturally infested ticks and the formulation of isolates
already evaluated in laboratory tests. In future, research will be directed toward the
identification of new pathogens under natural conditions (to found isolates adapted
for each area); to the association of biological products with chemical products aiming at synergistic action; to the search of new formulations that provide greater fungi
stability under field conditions; and deeper studies on the safety of biological products for use in animals and also their safety for man. All these efforts have the same
common target: to use entomopathogenic fungi in integrated management programs
for tick control.
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Cinc. da Vida 16: 4147.

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