Optimizing modes of inoculation of Rhipicephalus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) with a mitosporic entomopathogenic fungus in the laboratory.

The process of strain selection is an important step in the development of insect pathogens for biological control. Bioassays were conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the efficacy of different methods of inoculation using Rhipicephalus pulchellus Gerstäcker (Acari: Ixodidae) as a model. Initially, an oil-based formulation of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.