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Effects of ivermectin treatment on the attraction of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae and Hydrophilidae) to cow pats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. Holter ,
C. Sommer ,
J. Grønvold  and
M. Madsen
P. Holter*
Affiliation:
Institute of Population Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
C. Sommer
Affiliation:
Institute of Population Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
J. Grønvold
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Section of Parasitology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark
M. Madsen
Affiliation:
Veterinary Research Laboratory, Harare, Zimbabwe
*
Dr. P. Holter, Institute of Population Biology, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
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Abstract

The effect of ivermectin treatment of cattle on the rate of dung beetle colonization of cow pats was assessed by pitfall trapping in Denmark, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Ivermectin was injected subcutaneously into heifers at the recommended dose of 0.2 mg/kg body weight, and dung to be used as bait in pitfalls was collected at intervals after treatment. In one experiment in Denmark, species of the scarab beetle Aphodius and the hydrophilids Sphaeridium and Cercyon, preferred control dung from untreated cattle; no preference was found in two other experiments, involving some of the same species. In the Tanzanian trials, the overall tendency for scarabaeid beetles was to prefer control dung. In Zimbabwe, two scarabaeid species (Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche) and Liatongus militaris (Castelnau), both belonging to Oniticellini) were particularly attracted to dung from treated cattle; two other scarabaeids showed no preference. It is concluded: 1. That ivermectin therapy can affect the rate of dung colonization by attracting or repelling beetles. 2. That the responses are probably not caused by ivermectin per se, but by some side effect, the nature of which is obscure and unpredictable with our present knowledge.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 83 , Issue 1 , March 1993 , pp. 53 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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