The impact of coffee and pasture agriculture on predatory and omnivorous leaf-litter ants.

Ants are known to function as reliable biological indicators for habitat impact assessment. They play a wide range of ecological roles depending on their feeding and nesting habits. By clustering ants in guilds, it is possible both to assess how agriculture and forest fragmentation can disturb ant communities and to predict the ecological impacts due to losses of a specific guild.

[Action of extract and oil neem in the control of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887) (Acari: Ixodidae) in laboratory].

Organic plant extracts and emulsified oil of Azadirachta indica A. Juss (Meliaceae) (neem) were studied to evaluate its effects in control of engorged females of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887) in the laboratory. Hexane and alcoholic organic extracts, 2% (weight/volume) were used in tests of immersion for 5 minutes, prepared with seeds, solubilized in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to 1%.

[Plant extracts in control of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887) (Acari: Ixodidae) in laboratory].

Plant extracts were studied to evaluate its efficiency in the control of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887) in laboratory. Engorged female ticks were collected from the cattle, kept in Petri dishes. Organic alcoholic extracts 2% (weight/volume) were used: seeds of Annona muricata L.