Observations of tick predation by native insects in the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Authors: Maestas, Lauren; Zavala, Manuel; Tidwell, Jason; GOOLSBY, JOHN - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: Subtropical Agriculture and Environments
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/7/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The agricultural industry is one of the most important industries to humankind. The livestock industry supplies us with meat and livestock associated products, grains, fruits and vegetables. The cattle fever ticks are invasive pest to livestock in the US and elsewhere and in the US, prior to the formation of the cattle fever tick eradication project, these ticks were estimated to have caused about three billion dollars in economic damages when adjusted for inflation. Typical control methods of agricultural pests include the use of chemical agents such as pesticides, along with plant based pesticides, fungi, nematodes or natural predators. Biocontrol, specifically the use of predators to control pests has been quite effective in crop sciences, however, predation of pests of livestock can be challenging due to time spent on-and-off host. Identifying potential predators and means for deployment of predators of the economically important cattle fever tick would greatly benefit the livestock industry. Tick predation has been documented by rodents, birds, ants, wasps, and even opossums. Even though these predation events have been reported, the effectiveness and specificity of these tick predators is unknown. Here we report on three separate observations documented while conducting tick surveillance in Cameron County, TX, USA. We report three observations of apparent predation whereby a tick was in the jaws or within the grasp of a potential tick predator. We report two observations of tick predation by spiders and one observation of ant predation. We also discuss insight into potential methods of biocontrol using native species to combat pests that plague the agricultural industry.

Technical Abstract: The agricultural industry is one of the most important industries to humankind. The agricultural industry supplies us with livestock and livestock associated products, grains, fruits and vegetables. Cattle fever ticks are invasive pest to livestock in the US and it is estimated that an extended outbreak would result in damages of about 1.2 billion USD. Typical control methods of agricultural pests include the use of chemical agents such as pesticides, botanicals and entomopathogens (fungi and nematodes) or biocontrol (parasitoids or natural predators). Biocontrol, specifically the use of predators to control pests has been quite effective in crop sciences, however, predation of pests of livestock can be challenging due to time spent on-and-off host. Identifying potential predators and means for deployment of natural predators of the economically important cattle fever tick would greatly benefit the livestock industry. Tick predation has been documented by rodents, birds, ants, wasps, and even opossums. Even though these predation events have been reported, the effectiveness and specificity of these tick predators is unknown and means of introducing predators in a biologically sound paradigm are unknown. Here we report on three separate observations documented while conducting tick surveillance in Cameron County, TX, USA. We report three observations of apparent predation whereby a tick was in the jaws or within the grasp of a potential tick predator. We report two observations of tick predation by spiders and one observation of an ant predation. Further, we discuss insight into potential methods of biocontrol using native species to combat pests that plague the agricultural industry.