Soil characteristics in relation to the long-term efficacy of the biological control agent, the ragwort flea beetle (Longitarsus flavicornis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)) in Australia

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.J.B. Potter ◽  
J.E. Ireson ◽  
G. R Allen
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Term Efficacy

scholarly journals Evaluation of cellulose substrates treated with Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin as a biological control agent against the termite Microcerotermes diversus Silvestri (Isoptera: Termitidae)

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Behzad Habibpour ◽  
Amir Cheraghi ◽  
Mohammad Saeed Mossadegh
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Metarhizium Anisopliae ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Cellulose Substrates ◽  
Virulent Strains ◽  
Sustainable Protection ◽  
Chemical Pesticides

This article is the first report on the promising effect of an entomopathogenic fungus, <em>Metarhizium anisopliae</em> (Metschnikoff) Sorokin to control populations of <em>Microcerotermes diversus </em>Silvestri. Biological control is an alternative to the long-term usage of chemical pesticides.<em> M. anisopliae</em>, the causal agent of green muscardine disease of insects, is an important fungus in biological control of insect pests. Bait systems can eliminate entire colonies of subterranean termites. Baiting reduces adverse environmental impacts caused by organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides in the control of termites and creates sustainable protection of buildings against their invasion. Treated-sawdust bait was applied by two methods: a) combination of treated sawdust and untreated filter paper, and b) combination of treated sawdust and untreated sawdust. When combinations of treated sawdust and untreated sawdust were used, LC50 and LC90 were 8.4&times;106 and 3.9&times;107 (spore/ml), respectively. With the use of improved bait formula and more virulent strains, we hope to achieve better control of termite colonies and enable pathogens to become a useful element in the Integrated Pest Management system.

Evaluating the establishment success of Microctonus aethiopoides (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of the alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), across the northern Great Plains of North America

2018 ◽  
Vol 150 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana A. Rand ◽  
Makenzie Pellissier ◽  
Randa Jabbour ◽  
Jonathan G. Lundgren ◽  
Debra K. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Alfalfa Weevil ◽  
Hypera Postica ◽  
Microctonus Aethiopoides

AbstractThe alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica (Gyllenhal); Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a destructive pest of alfalfa (Medicago sativa Linnaeus; Fabaceae) worldwide. The biological control parasitoid, Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), was successfully introduced, and considered highly effective, in the eastern and mid-western United States of America. Redistribution efforts carried out throughout the 1980s reported initial establishment in the northern Great Plains, however follow-up studies to assess long-term persistence and efficacy are lacking. We resurveyed the counties in which M. aethiopoides had been initially recovered following redistribution in Montana (Flathead and Petroleum counties), Wyoming (Platte County), and South Dakota (Brookings County), to gauge whether this species has become permanently established and, if so, assess levels of parasitism in the field. We collected adult weevils from five fields in each county, and reared them in the laboratory to assess parasitism. Despite rearing more than 1000 weevils, no parasitoids were recovered from any of the locations sampled in our study, suggesting a widespread failure of M. aethiopoides to persist in the region. Thus, M. aethiopoides does not currently appear to be an important biological control agent of alfalfa weevil in the northern Great Plains. More intensive surveys will be required to assess the extent of the distributional limits of this species throughout the region.

scholarly journals Variability in weed biological control : effects of foliar nitrogen on larval development and dispersal of the alligatorweed flea beetle, Agasicles hygrophila

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harms Nathan ◽  
Cronin James
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Larval Development ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Flea Beetle ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Weed Biological Control ◽  
Foliar Nitrogen

Host quality can have dramatic effects on performance of biological control agents but its importance is understudied. We used a combination of field measurements and laboratory experiments to determine the range of foliar nitrogen (FN) that larvae of the alligatorweed flea beetle (Agasicles hygrophila) are exposed to in the field and its importance to larval development and dispersal. Seasonal variability in FN was assessed at field sites spanning southern to northern Louisiana every 2–3 weeks during the growing season for four years. In a series of laboratory experiments, alligatorweed FN was manipulated to examine its influence on larval development and survival (under different temperature regimes), adult biomass, and dispersal of the biological control agent, A. hygrophila. Foliar nitrogen and rearing temperature had strong independent effects on larval development rate. We demonstrated that increasing nitrogen in leaf tissues shortens larval A. hygrophila developmental time and increases survival to adulthood, regardless of exposure temperature during development. It also suggests that foliar nitrogen may have important effects on biological control of alligatorweed, particularly as a result of seasonal variation in temperature and plant nutrition at field sites and could contribute to observed variation in A. hygrophila efficacy in the field.

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