The obligate ectoparasite Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, also known as cattle tick, is the hard tick vector of babesiosis, a protozoal infection that causes severe meat production losses at huge economic costs. Although babesiosis was eradicated from the United States, its vector still exists in Mexico and different security measures are used to prevent its reintroduction into the U.S. Furthermore, the massive use of chemical acaricides during the last century has resulted in the development of resistance and toxicological problems. A possible and more sustainable alternative could be represented by the applications of biopesticides. Recently, two sesquiterpenoids, inuloxin A and α-costic acid isolated from Dittrichia viscosa, a perennial native plant of the Mediterranean basin, showed several interesting biological activities including acaricidal and antifeedant activities. Both inuloxin A and α-costic acid caused an impact on the hatch rate of the eggs and a larval mortality rate higher than 80% in vitro bioassays on eggs of R. annulatus. Moreover, the hatch rate of the eggs and the mortality rate of the larvae seem to be dependent on the timing of application of the compounds on the eggs. These results suggested a potential use of both compounds to control R. annulatus.

专性外寄生Rhipicephalus（Boophilus）annulatus，也称为牛tick，是杆状杆菌病的坚硬tick媒，一种原生动物感染，导致肉类严重损失，经济成本高昂。尽管从美国根除了杆状杆菌病，但它的病媒仍存在于墨西哥，并采取了各种安全措施来防止其再次引入美国。此外，上世纪化学杀螨剂的大量使用已导致耐药性和毒理学问题的发展。 。生物杀虫剂的应用可以代表一种可能且更可持续的替代方法。近来，从粘枝白铁皮中分离出两种倍半萜类物质，inuloxin A和α-椰油酸是地中海盆地的多年生本地植物，表现出几种有趣的生物学活性，包括杀螨和拒食动物活动。既inuloxin A和α-costic酸引起在蛋的孵化率和幼虫死亡率高于80％的体外生物测定法上的鸡蛋产生影响R. annulatus。而且，卵的孵化率和幼虫的死亡率似乎取决于化合物在卵上的施用时间。这些结果表明，两种化合物都可能用于控制环纹罗勒菌。