Acanthiophilus helianthi (Rossi, 1794) (Diptera: Tephritidae) also known as safflower fly, is an oligophagous species that cause significant damage to plants. Safflower Carthamus tinctorius (L.) (Asterales: Asteraceae) plant, which among its hosts, important energy plant whose cultivation has increased in recent years our country resistant drought and high adaptability. This study investigated ...

BACKGROUND The cattle ticks, Boophilus spp., affect cattle production in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Tick vaccines constitute a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to tick control. The recombinant B. microplus Bm86 protective antigen has been shown to protect cattle against tick infestations. Recently, the gene coding for B. annulatus Bm86 ortholog, Ba86, ...

In laboratory bioassays we tested the predatory capacity of the copepod Mesocyclops annulatus on Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens larvae. A single adult female of M. annulatus caused 51.6% and 52.3% mortality of 50 first instar larvae of Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens respectively, in a 72 h test period. When alternative food was added to the containers, mortality rates declined to 16% and 10.3% fo...

A total number of 450 blood samples were collected from 45 different randomly selected cattle herds. Light microscopic examination of blood smears revealed Babesia spp. infection in 4.2%, while 8.9% of blood samples were positive using PCR. Upon multiplex-PCR (mPCR), B. bigemina and B. bovis infections were detected in 37/40 (92.5%) and 3/40 (7.5%) samples, respectively. 530 ticks of 10 Ixodid ...

Factors that directly impact horizontal transmission of the microsporidium Amblyospora albifasciati to its intermediate copepod host, Mesocyclops annulatus were examined in laboratory bioassays. Results were evaluated in relation to life history strategies that facilitate persistence of the parasite in natural populations of its definitive mosquito host, Ochlerotatus albifasciatus. A moderately...

Bovine babesiosis, also known as cattle fever, is a tick-borne protozoal disease foreign to the United States. It was eradicated by eliminating the vector species, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, through the efforts of the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program (CFTEP), with the exception of a permanent quarantine zone (PQZ) in south Texas along the b...