Piper aduncum found naturally in the Amazon and southeastern Brazil, is known for its secondary metabolites that have activity on insects. Anticarsia gemmatalis and Spodoptera frugiperda are among the major insect pests associated with agricultural production. This research evaluated the biological activity of hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol extracts of P. aduncum leaves on mortality and duration of larval and pupal periods, as well as weight, width, and length of A. gemmatalis and S. frugiperda pupae. The mortality of A. gemmatalis larvae in trials with P. aduncum extracts were 93.3% (hexane) and 90% (ethyl acetate), estimating LC 50 of 6.35 and 5.79 mg/mL, respectively. Mortality in S. frugiperda submitted to the hexane extract ranged from 3.33% to 96.66% (LC 50 of 8.22 mg/mL). The ethanol extract induced low mortality (3.33% to 23.33%). The P. aduncum extracts did not affect the development of S. frugiperda pupae. In A. gemmatalis differences in weight and length occurred. The chemical characterization was by GC-MS, which revealed that the major constituent in the hexane extract of P. aduncum was apiol (90.7%). P. aduncum extracts are important and promising components to manage A. gemmatalis and S. frugiperda, which cause extensive production losses.

RESUMOOs extratos acetato de etila, etanólico e aquoso de raízes de Lonchocarpus floribundus foram utilizados, a fim de avaliar a atividade biológica sobre carrapato bovino. Carrapatos adultos foram coletados em bovinos infestados artificialmente, separados em grupos de dez indivíduos, pesados e imersos, separadamente, nos extratos de raízes de L. floribundus, nas concentrações de 5, 25, 50, 75 e 100 mg mL Biological activity of ethylic acetate, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of timbo (Lonchocarpus floribundus) on cattle tickABSTRACT Ethylic acetate, ethanolic and aqueous roots extracts of Lonchocarpus floribundus were used to evaluate their biological activity on cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Adult ticks were collected in artificially infested cattle, separated into groups of ten individuals, weighed and immersed separately in the extracts of L. floribundus roots at concentrations of 5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg mL -1 . For biological evaluation 14-21-day-old larvae were used, which were immersed in the extracts at concentrations of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg mL -1 . After treatment, each group was placed in a Petri dish and maintained at 27 ± 1 ºC and 80 ± 5% relative humidity. The extracts evaluated were not effective to induce mortality of over 50%-engorged female. The ethylic acetate and ethanolic extracts induced 100% mortality of larvae. The ethanolic extract was more toxic (median lethal concentration, LC 50 , of 2.1 mg mL -1 ) than the ethylic acetate extract (LC 50 = 4.1 mg mL -1). For the ethanolic extract it was estimated a median inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 3.0 mg mL -1 and it was more toxic than the other extracts on this parameter. Among the three extracts evaluated, the ethylic acetate and ethanolic extracts showed the highest potential for the control of reproduction of R. (B.) microplus, reaching 100% at concentration of 5 mg mL -1 . The L. floribundus root extracts showed biological activity on cattle tick.