Mecanismo de supressão de colônias da formiga-cortadeira Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus por fipronil

• Autor(a) principal: Gandra, Lailla Cristina
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/3988
• topic: Formiga-cortadeira; Acromymex; Supressão; Fipronil; Ant-cutter; Acromymex; Suppression; Fipronil; CNPQ::CIENCIAS AGRARIAS::AGRONOMIA::FITOSSANIDADE::ENTOMOLOGIA AGRICOLA

The leaf-cutting ants are considered pests in the Brazilian economy because they cause big losses in the agricultural and forestry systems. Annually, large sums are spent seeking their control, which is done primarily through available insecticides. Their use is under heavy pressure of national and international certification due to the need to protect the environment because the current active ingredients available in the commercial insecticide formulations are not considered safe to the environment. The behavioral repertoire displayed by the ants is responsible for the difficulty in achieving ant control. Among the main behaviors performed by worker ants there are the autogrooming , allogrooming , trophallaxis and waste handling, which are responsible for maintaining the colony hygiene keeping it free of parasites and pathogens. The insecticide fipronil cause neural effects leading the individuals to death by hyperactivity, impairing key behavioral traits important for the colony maintenance. In this work, the workers were expose to fipronil by two ways: spraying and toxic baits. In the first, fipronil was sprayed in the soil where six colonies of Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus were placed. In the second, three grams of toxic bait were offered to five colonies to A. subterraneus subterraneus. The frequency of occurrence of the main behaviors was recorded. Under insect sprayed in soil, ant behaviors like autogrooming , disposal of adults and waste handling were reduced in colonies. Under toxic bait exposure, the ant behaviors of autogrooming , allogrooming , waste removal, and activities undertaken within the fungus garden by the minors workers were reduced resulting in the development of parasitc fungus Escovopsis present in the fungus garden of the colonies. Thus the two forms of the insecticide application have effects on workers of A. subterraneus subterraneus, however the baits have a more pronounced effect in the colonies and colony suppressed was achieved by affecting mainly minor workers. Since these workers are responsible for maintaining the symbiotic fungus, its absence culminates in the decay and death of the fungus garden and subsequent death of workers due to lack of food substrate, occurring, finally the complete suppression of colony.