Beauveria bassiana isolated from engorged females and tested against eggs and larvae of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae)

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the in vitro virulence of three isolates of Beauveria bassiana to eggs and larvae of the tick Boophilus microplus. The fungus tested were isolated from engorged females of B. microplus collected on the field, and identified as Bb28, Bb29 and Bb30. These isolates were evaluated by immersion of eggs and larvae in suspensions with different conidial concentrations: 10(8), 10(7), 10(6) and 10(5) conidia/ml and compared to the control groups. In the treated eggs, there was a percentage much smaller of hatching than that observed in the controls. The egg hatch was inversely proportional to the conidial concentration. In larval bioassays, all isolates resulted in a higher mortality of larvae compared to the control according to the conidial concentrations/ml, 10 days after treatment inoculation.