The study was set up to evaluate the impact of two commercial larvicide formulations,
Bacillus thuringiensis
serovar
israelensis base (Bti) at 15 ppm/1 min and temephos at 0.03 ppm of active ingredient, used to control
Simulium pertinax
populations, on associated non-target entomofauna occupying the same breeding sites.
The experiments were carried out on the Pedra Branca and Muricana rivers, on the slopes of Serra do Mar massif, municipality of Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bti was applied to the river Pedra Branca and temephos to the river Muricana. On both rivers, treatment and control sections were labeled as such, each one with two observation posts: slow moving water and fast water regions respectively.
Artificial substrata was used to evaluate the abundance of associated entomofauna. Attached immature stages of arthropods were removed from both of its surfaces fortnightly. Were collected, from the two rivers, 28 477 specimens of the entomofauna associated with
S. pertinax. The families Hydropsychidae, Chironomidae, Bactidae, Simuliidae, Blephariceridae and Megapodagrionidae were represented.
These was an impact of temephos on the entomofauna associated with
S. pertinax only in Simuliidae and Chironomidae, and to Bti only in Simuliidae. However, the reduction in their numbers was not statistically significant.
