The effect of different temperatures on the predatory activity of Arthrobotrys oligospora and Duddingtonia flagrans on the free-living larval stages of cyathostomes were evaluated in an experiment where feces of horses containing the parasites eggs were treated with these fungi and incubated under different constant temperatures (10°C, 15°C, 20°C, 25°C and 30°C ). The results indicated that the optimum temperature for egg development was 25°C. At 10°C the number of L3 recovered was practically zero, and at 15°C and 20°C, the percentage of larvae recovered was less than 3% of the total number of eggs per gram of feces. When these cultures subsequently were incubated for an additional period of 14 days at 27°C, they allowed the development of L3. In all the... |