Ação de extratos botânicos no controle da formiga cortadeira Atta sexdens rubropilosa (Hym: Formicidae)

Abstract

The control of leafcutter ants is constant in agroecosystems, in which, among the different methods adopted, the chemical one (toxic baits) is the most used. Substances that are extracted from plants, as insecticides, have many advantages when compared to the use of synthetic products. This project’s objective was to evaluate the insecticidal and/or fungicidal potential of the plants Asclepias curassavica, Rosmarinus officinalis and Equisetum ssp. in the control of the leaf-cutting ants Atta sexdens rubropilosa. We made use of 40 colonies of Atta sexdensbred in a laboratory. The plants were collected, dried in a high temperature test chamber for 48 hours, grinded in a Wiley mill and macerated in ethanol 96º up to exhaustion. After being filtered, the product obtained was evaporated under reduced pressure for the production of ethanolic extracts. We conducted reagent acceptance tests, topical application of ethanolic extracts at 4% on the back of the ants and topical application of baits made with plant extracts at 4%. All of the plant extracts adopted affected the de development of the fungi garden negatively. Asclepias-curassavica-based baits provoked the mortality of 22.5% of the colonies in a 7-day period.