National production of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Ashmed)for application in biological fly control

• Grant number: 19/08991-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: February 01, 2020
• End date: January 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Entomology and Malacology of Parasites and Vectors
• Principal Investigator: Maria Aparecida Ferreira de Almeida
• Grantee: Maria Aparecida Ferreira de Almeida
• Company: Tak Controle Biológico Ltda
• CNAE: Criação de animais não especificados anteriormente ; Atividades de apoio à pecuária
• Pesquisadores principais: Lucila Maria Lopes de Carvalho
• Associated researchers: GUIDO TIRONE
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/06016-0 - National production of Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Ashmed) for application in biological fly control, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Muscoid dipterans are flies that develop in excrements and food residues in dairy farms and laying poultry farms, and may also be associated with vinasse that accumulates around sugar cane plants, causing damage to the health of animals and man, since they are important pathogen carriers that occur in animal breeding environments. Integrated pest management (IPM) should be practiced in these cases by gathering adequate chemical control, periodic cleaning of breeding sites and biological control. Parasitoid wasps have already been shown to be effective biological controllers of muscoid dipterans, but in Brazil the mass release of microhimenoptera has not yet been performed. Tachinaephagus zealandicus (Encyrtidae) is a species of parasitoid that attacks larval stages of the flies and presents a gregarious habit. A colony of T. zealandicus should be established associated with the hosts Chrysomya putoria and C. megacephala from specimens collected on laying poultry farms and a colonization plan will be developed. Adult specimens of C. putoria and C. megacephala will be kept in cages in an air conditioned environment (25 ° C, 60% RH), fed a diet containing sugar, milk powder and beer yeast (1: 1: 1) and water and the larvae will develop in culture medium containing agar, powdered milk, casein, yeast and nipagin. Third instar larvae will be exposed to parasitoid females for egg laying. T. zealandicus adults will be kept in cages which will remain in germination chambers (25 ° C, 60% RH). After the establishment of the colony, a pilot experiment will be conducted with the purpose of statistically evaluating the parasitoid's performance in the natural environment and the mode of release. Sampling of wild flies from the experiment site will be performed at the time before and after the mass release of T. zealandicus adults. Prior to the release in the field, the relationship of emergence of males and females in the laboratory will be evaluated. The information obtained in this first phase of the study will be a prerequisite for the second phase of the project, which will deal with the establishment of biological control of muscoid dipterans using the T. zealandicus parasitoid. (AU)