Abstract
Haematobia irritans, also known as the horn fly, is a “plague” that spreads rapidly among cattle herds, especially in the southeast of Brazil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction and activity of nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans (AC001) on H. irritans (Diptera: Muscidae). The experiment was conducted using the nematophagous fungus (AC001), which is harmless to animals, humans, and the environment. At the beginning of the experimental trial, samples of adult H. irritans were collected manually, directly from the dorsal region of naturally infested cattle of the Nelore breed. The flies where divided into two groups: groups of adult flies treated with AC001 (treated group) and groups of flies that did not receive treatment (control group). During the trial, the experiment was monitored daily for five days and the results were recorded. The results showed that the AC001 fungal isolate grew, colonized, and consequently caused the death of the flies in the treated group, while in the control group, no interaction or growth was observed, and the flies remained alive. It was concluded that the fungus D. flagrans interacted with adult flies, taking into consideration a “possible attack” by chitinase enzymes, since the fungal isolate drew on the chitin contained in the exoskeletons of the insects. In addition, attention should be focused on new studies that can demonstrate that, in the future, biological control of the horn fly could be an effective and safe method when compared with other methods. Key words: Biological control, Duddingtonia flagrans, horn fly, Nelore, Brazil.
Highlights
IntroductionThere are various states that produce cattle of the Nelore breed, and the state of Espírito Santo currently has 2,295,624 heads, accounting for approximately 1.1% of the Brazilian herd (IBGE, 2014)
The cattle herd in Brazil consists of approximately 212.3 million heads, an impressive number that puts the country in second place worldwide for the herd with the largest number of cattle, accounting for 22.5% of the
Livestock losses caused by ectoparasitic infestations are exorbitant and can reach an annual cost of approximately US$ 2.26 billion (Byford et al, 1992), and the situation is no different in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo
Summary
There are various states that produce cattle of the Nelore breed, and the state of Espírito Santo currently has 2,295,624 heads, accounting for approximately 1.1% of the Brazilian herd (IBGE, 2014). Livestock losses caused by ectoparasitic infestations are exorbitant and can reach an annual cost of approximately US$ 2.26 billion (Byford et al, 1992), and the situation is no different in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. Among the parasites that are harmful to cattle health is the horn fly (Haematobia irritans), which causes worldwide losses of approximately US$ 730 million and national livestock losses of US$ 150 million (Grisi et al, 2002)
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