Survey of arthropods associated with cattle fever ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus) (Acari: Ixodidae) in Batangas Province, Philippines

With increasing concerns regarding environmental safety, rise in cost of chemical controls, potential resistance of ticks to acaricides, and transmission of several pathogens to humans, the use of biological control agents (BCA) is important in the management of cattle fever tick (CFT), Rhipicephalus microplus. A preliminary survey of the BCAs of R. microplus was done in Padre Burgos, Batangas Province, Philippines to identify arthropods with possible association with cattle fever ticks using the sweep net technique, yellow pan trap, sticky trap, and pitfall trap as collection methods. Engorged R. microplus were collected from the ears, neck, dewlap, and flank of cattle at the livestock auction market. Majority of the ticks were used as bait attached to the different collecting traps to attract BCAs. A total of 4,542 arthropods were collected and predominantly in the orders Diptera, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, Homoptera, and Hemiptera. The use of BCAs for tick management in the Philippines is relatively new and is primarily in its research phase. More extensive survey will be done to explore additional BCAs of CFT in the Philippines. The discovery of the BCA of CFT will help in the control of CFT in the Philippines and other countries where this pest is a major problem in livestock. © Rushing Water Publishers Ltd. 2019

Potential biological control agents for management of cogongrass (Cyperales: Poaceae) in the Southeastern USA

Cogongrass, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Palisot de Beauvois (Cyperales: Poaceae), is a serious invasive weed in the southeastern USA. Surveys for potential biological control agents of cogongrass were conducted in Asia and East Africa from 2013 to 2016. Several insect herbivores were found that may have restricted host ranges based on field collection data and life histories. Stemborers in the genus Acrapex (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were collected from cogongrass in Tanzania, Uganda, and Japan. In the Philippines, larvae of Emmalocera sp. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Chilo sp. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) were found boring in cogongrass. Cecidomyiid midges were found in both Japan and Indonesia. A Japanese midge identified as a Contarinia sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) caused deformation of the stem, whereas the Indonesian midge Orseolia javanica Kieffer & van Leeuwen-Reijinvaan (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) induced the formation of a basal stem gall. Previous research suggested that the host range of O. javanica was restricted to cogongrass