Effect of essential oil from leaves of Drimys angustifolia in colonies of Acromyrmex spp. in pinus taeda planting.

Abstract

Ants cause damage and economic losses in plantation forests, mainly in Pinus taeda; their control implies agrochemicals that can contaminate the ecological processes, and the search for alternative ways to control these insects in the forest activities is a desirable practice. Among the various existing alternative forms of control, such as the habitat management and biological control, there is the control with use of extracts and essential oils of plants with insecticidal properties. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of the essential oil extracted from the leaves of Drimys angustifolia, in colonies of leaf cutting ants of the genus Acromyrmex spp., in planting P. taeda, as an alternative control. The essential oil was applied in two treatments with 100% and 10% concentrations within eight active nests with a hand sprayer and compared with four nests as control. The final result showed that the eight nests treated with the oil were abandoned, highlighting the potential activity of the essential oil to ants, compared to control nests that remained active. The essential oil of D. angustifolia exhibited potential to be applied as alternative control of leaf-cutting ants of the genus Acromyrmex.