Potential use of edaphic predatory mites for the control of hematophagous mites (Acari)

• Ano de defesa: 2016
• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Renan Venancio da
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: Biological Control; Controle biológico; Diversidade; Diversity; Ecologia; Ecology; Taxonomia; Taxonomy
• Link de acesso: http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/11/11146/tde-15042016-181233/

A major concern in animal production is the occurrence of hematophagous organisms, as ticks and poultry mites. The control of these organisms is usually done with chemicals. However, this technique is being discouraged in several countries. An alternative measure is biological control. It is known that most mites of the cohort Gamasina (order Mesostigmata) are predators and their diversity and prevalence in places where ticks and poultry mites cause problems are poorly understood. One of the first recommended steps in a biological control program is to determine the fauna where the pest organisms are to be controlled. The objectives of this study were to determine the Gamasina co-occurring with Ixodes ricinus (L.) in pastures in Norway and prospect possible edaphic predatory mites of that group in Brazil to control ticks and poultry mites. In this study, 2,900 Gamasina of 12 families were collected in Norway, co-occurring with I. ricinus. The most abundant families were Parasitidae (46.9%) and Veigaiidae (25.9%), while the most diverse were Laelapidae, Macrochelidae, Parasitidae and Zerconidae, each with five species. Among these mites, a new laelapid species of Cosmolaelaps was found and is here described. In Brazil, 551 gamasines assigned to 11 families were collected and tested for their potential to feed on larvae and eggs of two tick species, Amblyomma sculptum Berlese and Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini), and all stages of the red poultry mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer). The most abundant families were Ologamasidae (25.4%) and Parasitidae (21.1%), while the most diverse (in terms of genera) were Ologamasidae and Laelapidae, with five and four genera, respectively. Of the evaluated predators, only Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Womersley) fed on the larvae of both tick species and all stages of D. gallinae.