Cenicafé
Coffea arabica
control biológico
hormigas cortadoras
Leucoagaricus gongylophorus
Trichoderma
Coffea arabica
biological control
leaf-cutting ants
Leucoagaricus gongylophorus
Metarhizium anisopliae
Trichoderma
Coffea arabica
controle biológico
formigas cortadeiras
Leucoagaricus gongylophorus
Metarhizium anisopliae
Trichoderma
Cenicafé
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Following the ban on chlorpyrifos and fipronil, alternative formicidal baits and insecticides were evaluated for Atta cephalotes control. These included the biological agents Trichoderma sp. (an antagonist of the ant's symbiotic fungus), Metarhizium anisopliae, and Beauveria bassiana, along with the chemical insecticides: abamectina, cipermetrina, indoxacarb and thiamethoxam+cyproconazole. To evaluate the antagonism of Trichoderma, it was co-cultured with Leucoagaricus gongylophorus (symbiotic fungus of A. cephalotes), successfully invading, inhibiting, and causing necrosis within five days. In pathogenicity tests, adult worker ants were exposed to M. anisopliae or B. bassiana at 1 × 107 conidia/ml in glass vials containing agar and L. gongylophorus mycelium as food, with 25 replicates per treatment. M. anisopliae and B. bassiana caused total mortality at three and five days, respectively. For nest control, baits with Trichoderma and M. anisopliae (1 × 107 conidia/ml) and insecticides were applied on oat flakes over 5 m² nests, with five replicates per treatment. Foraging activity was assessed on days 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20, achieving 100% control with Metarhizium and Trichoderma by day 20. Indoxacarb eliminated nests by day 10 and thiamethoxam + cyproconazole by day 15. In large nests (>50 m²), thermonebulization was applied using 50 cm³ of insecticide per liter of diesel (ACPM), for one minute per 10 m². Cypermethrin 200 EC achieved total control by day 5, outperforming the other treatments. These results offer viable biological and chemical alternatives for the field management of A. cephalotes.
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