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The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control

Species of Ixodiphagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are parasitoid wasps whose immature forms develop inside ixodid and argasid ticks (Acari: Ixodida). Following oviposition by adult female wasps into the idiosoma of ticks, larvae hatch and start feeding on their internal contents, eventually emerging...

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Autores principales: Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento, de Macedo, Lucia Oliveira, Bezerra-Santos, Marcos Antônio, de Carvalho, Gílcia Aparecida, Verocai, Guilherme Gomes, Otranto, Domenico
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10221573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37242346
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12050676
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author Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento
de Macedo, Lucia Oliveira
Bezerra-Santos, Marcos Antônio
de Carvalho, Gílcia Aparecida
Verocai, Guilherme Gomes
Otranto, Domenico
author_facet Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento
de Macedo, Lucia Oliveira
Bezerra-Santos, Marcos Antônio
de Carvalho, Gílcia Aparecida
Verocai, Guilherme Gomes
Otranto, Domenico
author_sort Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento
collection PubMed
description Species of Ixodiphagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are parasitoid wasps whose immature forms develop inside ixodid and argasid ticks (Acari: Ixodida). Following oviposition by adult female wasps into the idiosoma of ticks, larvae hatch and start feeding on their internal contents, eventually emerging as adult wasps from the body of the dead ticks. Species of Ixodiphagus have been reported as parasitoids of 21 species of ticks distributed across 7 genera. There are at least ten species described in the genus, with Ixodiphagus hookeri being the most studied as an agent for biological control of ticks. Although attempts of tick control by means of this parasitoid largely failed, in a small-scale study 150,000 specimens of I. hookeri were released over a 1-year period in a pasture where a small cattle population was kept, resulting in an overall reduction in the number of Amblyomma variegatum ticks per animal. This review discusses current scientific information about Ixodiphagus spp., focusing on the role of this parasitoid in the control of ticks. The interactions between these wasps and the ticks’ population are also discussed, focusing on the many biological and logistical challenges, with limitations of this control method for reducing tick populations under natural conditions.
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spelling pubmed-102215732023-05-28 The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento de Macedo, Lucia Oliveira Bezerra-Santos, Marcos Antônio de Carvalho, Gílcia Aparecida Verocai, Guilherme Gomes Otranto, Domenico Pathogens Review Species of Ixodiphagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are parasitoid wasps whose immature forms develop inside ixodid and argasid ticks (Acari: Ixodida). Following oviposition by adult female wasps into the idiosoma of ticks, larvae hatch and start feeding on their internal contents, eventually emerging as adult wasps from the body of the dead ticks. Species of Ixodiphagus have been reported as parasitoids of 21 species of ticks distributed across 7 genera. There are at least ten species described in the genus, with Ixodiphagus hookeri being the most studied as an agent for biological control of ticks. Although attempts of tick control by means of this parasitoid largely failed, in a small-scale study 150,000 specimens of I. hookeri were released over a 1-year period in a pasture where a small cattle population was kept, resulting in an overall reduction in the number of Amblyomma variegatum ticks per animal. This review discusses current scientific information about Ixodiphagus spp., focusing on the role of this parasitoid in the control of ticks. The interactions between these wasps and the ticks’ population are also discussed, focusing on the many biological and logistical challenges, with limitations of this control method for reducing tick populations under natural conditions. MDPI 2023-05-03 /pmc/articles/PMC10221573/ /pubmed/37242346 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12050676 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Ramos, Rafael Antonio Nascimento
de Macedo, Lucia Oliveira
Bezerra-Santos, Marcos Antônio
de Carvalho, Gílcia Aparecida
Verocai, Guilherme Gomes
Otranto, Domenico
The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title_full The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title_fullStr The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title_full_unstemmed The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title_short The Role of Parasitoid Wasps, Ixodiphagus spp. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), in Tick Control
title_sort role of parasitoid wasps, ixodiphagus spp. (hymenoptera: encyrtidae), in tick control
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10221573/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37242346
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12050676
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