THEORETICAL OPTIMIZATION OF BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS BERLINER FOR CONTROL OF THE EASTERN SPRUCE BUDWORM, CHORISTONEURA FUMIFERANA CLEM. (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE): ESTIMATES OF LETHAL AND SUBLETHAL DOSE REQUIREMENTS, PRODUCT POTENCY, AND EFFECTIVE DROPLET SIZES

1993 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen ◽  
Nicholas J. Payne

AbstractWe present calculations of droplet sizes and product potencies that are theoretically required to deliver a lethal dose of Bacillus thuringiensis in one droplet to larvae of the eastern spruce budworm in aerial spray applications. The calculations are based on estimates of the dose required for 50% and 95% mortality [4.3 and 26.9 International Units (IU), respectively] and of the lowest dose that caused discernable feeding inhibition (0.5 IU) in force-feeding assays with sixth-instar larvae. For products containing 12.7–16.9 billion IU (BIU) per litre, the most widely used potency range, a 150- to 160-μm droplet is needed to deliver an LD95 and an 80- to 90-μm droplet to deliver an LD50, whereas droplets down to 40 μm are expected to cause extensive feeding inhibition. Our calculations suggest that current application prescriptions result in the delivery of a marginally effective dose to the target foliage and that budworm larvae have to ingest multiple droplets to obtain a lethal dose, a process that is thought to contribute to inconsistent spray efficacy. We predict that dose acquisition can be maximized by increasing product potency to 95 BIU/L, which would enable larvae to acquire a lethal dose by ingestion of only one or two droplets in the size range that is most commonly encountered on coniferous foliage (≤ 80 µm) after aerial application.

1992 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 1101-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Fleming ◽  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractSingle aerial applications of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) to control infestations of the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens) have had varied operational success. Double applications are too expensive for general use, but might prove useful if directed to areas where the initial application was unsuccessful. This requires forecasts of the efficacy of the initial application in operational spray blocks within 4–5 days.Data were collected in 30 spray blocks in 1989 in a feasibility study to determine if such forecasts of spray efficacy could be made from the prespray budworm population density, N0, and from the proportion of the population that had ingested a lethal dose Bt within 2 days of application, M. A mathematical model forecasting the postspray budworm population density, NF, was derived from population-dynamic considerations and fitted (r2 = 0.48, p < 0.0001):The proportion of current foliage defoliated, D, depended (r = 0.81) on N0 and on whether the block was sprayed (I = 0) or not (I = 1):Only one measure of defoliation involved M in any statistically significant way. The predicted (from values of N0) proportion of defoliation prevented by Bt application, dD, was weakly (r2 = 0.25, p = 0.002) related to M:The large proportion of the variation in efficacy that remains unexplained by the models involving M limits the operational utility of this approach as it now stands for specific sites. The potential for further development of these models as decision support tools for fairly large spray blocks is discussed in terms of improving the sampling plan and including additional predictor variables.Methods are also presented that reduce bias in calculations of population reduction (Abbott 1925) and foliage protection when data are available from few control and many treatment blocks.


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 1697-1703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Schoenmaker ◽  
Michel Cusson ◽  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

We investigated interactions between Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki and parasitoids that attack late instars of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens). In a petri-dish arena, females of Tranosema rostrale rostrale (Brishke) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) were able to discriminate between untreated fourth instars and fourth instars that had been given a known dose of a commercial product (Foray 48B). When the choice tests were conducted before host mortality due to B. thuringiensis had occurred among treated larvae (24 h post ingestion), the parasitoid attacked untreated larvae more readily. When females were given a choice between control larvae and treated larvae that were still alive 72 h post ingestion, they were able to discriminate between the two only when the larvae had been treated with at least a 50% lethal dose. Under laboratory conditions, female T. r. rostrale were thus able to detect and avoid treated larvae that exhibited a lethal response to the pathogen, and to a lesser extent larvae that had survived pathogen exposure. The ability of the latter was not apparent under field conditions. When treated and untreated larvae were exposed for 1 week to a complex of indigenous parasitoids in the field, there was no difference between treatments in the rates of parasitism by either T. r. rostrale or Actia interrupta Curran (Diptera: Tachinidae). Parasitism averaged 91% for larvae in the control treatment compared with 92% for larvae treated with Foray 48B. The field data suggest that spruce budworm larvae that survive exposure to B. thuringiensis are just as likely to be parasitized as unexposed, healthy larvae. This means that prolonged development of late-instar spruce budworm larvae after treatment with B. thuringiensis could possibly result in increased attack rates by parasitoids.


1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 1061-1065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractThe relationship between temperature and pathogenesis of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki in infected larvae of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem., was investigated to determine if more rapid death of larvae with an increase in temperature could be accounted for by enhanced bacterial growth. Cumulative mortality of larvae force-fed with a lethal dose of HD-1-S-1980 peaked within 2 days at 25 °C, 3 days at 19 °C, 7 days at 16 °C, and 21 days at 13 °C. The progress of bacterial growth in the larvae was followed from spore germination to cell lysis, and was completed within 4 days at 25 °C, 6 days at 22 °C, 12 days at 19 °C, 14 days at 16 °C, and > 28 days at 13 °C. Peak abundance of vegetative cells in the larvae was observed after 1 day at 25 °C, 2 days at 22 °C, 3 days at 19 °C, 7 days at 16 °C, and 21 days at 13 °C, and thus coincided almost exactly with the time required for maximum larval mortality. This correlation suggests that the observed effect of temperature on progression of larval mortality was due to its effect on the proliferation of vegetative cells in the infected larvae, and that bacterial septicemia makes an important contribution to death.


2000 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen ◽  
Carl Nystrom ◽  
John Dedes ◽  
Vern Seligy

AbstractA larval population of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), was monitored for 5 d following aerial application of a commercial formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subsp. kurstaki to investigate dose acquisition and expression (larval mortality, recovery, feeding, and growth) in relation to spray deposition and persistence of spray deposits. The main objective was to test if previous laboratory observations on how B. thuringiensis affects feeding and dose ingestion by spruce budworm larvae hold true under field conditions. About 40% of the treated population ingested a lethal dose within 1 d after spray application. Lethally dosed larvae died without further feeding upon transfer from treated foliage to (untreated) artificial diet. Resumption of feeding by larvae that survived the treatment was delayed relative to larvae from the control population during 3 d following spray application; during that time, normal feeding activity and larval weight gain were suppressed. Inhibited feeding by survivors appeared to prevent further dose uptake because the proportion of lethally dosed larvae in daily collections did not increase despite significant residual spray deposits in budworm feeding sites. Restoration of "normal" recovery times by the fourth day coincided with a 65–85% reduction in persistence of the pathogen on the foliage and did not result in further lethal dose acquisition, as treatment-induced mortality dropped to about 20% on the 4th and 5th days. The observations are consistent with previous laboratory observations of how B. thuringiensis affects larval feeding and with the hypothesis that feeding inhibition may be a limiting factor in the acquisition of a lethal dose.


1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Jan A. Volney ◽  
George A. McDougall

AbstractThe insecticide phosphamidon, both alone and mixed with other chemicals, was tested in the laboratory as a motor stimulant to female spruce budworm moths. For phosphamidon alone, the time to reaction of virgin female budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) moths was about 40 min. However, small supplements of pyrethrum or synthetic pyrethroids reduced the reaction time to about 3–8 min. The slow reaction to phosphamidon alone could account for the failure of that insecticide to kill gravid females. It is postulated that moths quickly stimulated to flight activity within the canopy would be more likely to acquire a lethal dose of insecticide before the spray cloud dissipated.


1995 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Payne ◽  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractBecause microbial insecticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki cause temporary cessation of larval feeding at sublethal doses, we hypothesized that the delivery of a given dose in a single droplet is more efficacious than delivery of the same dose in multiple smaller droplets. We tested this hypothesis by exposing larvae of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), to an LD50 of a commercial product (Dipel 8L) in combinations of droplet sizes and densities that are commonly observed on coniferous foliage after aerial application. A nominal dose of 5.2 International Units (IU) was presented to fifth-instar larvae on one, two, or four balsam fir, Abies balsamea L., needles in the form of one, two, or four droplets with diameters of 84, 66, or 52 μm, respectively. The combinations of droplet size and density were chosen to represent an increasing degree of dose dispersion. Overall mortality after a 24-h exposure was significantly reduced with increasing dose dispersion from an average of 66% when the dose was presented in one 84-μm droplet on one needle to 40% when presented in multiple droplets on several needles. Increased dose dispersion reduced the proportion of larvae that were able to ingest the full dose, presumably because of feeding inhibition caused by ingestion of sublethal droplets. In addition, mortality of fully dosed larvae declined significantly with increasing dispersion, implying a reduction in the effectiveness of the ingested dose. When compared with operational spray deposits, our results suggest that efficacy of spruce budworm sprays may be improved by increasing the proportion of needles receiving a lethal spray deposit by increasing product potency and possibly the active ingredient application rate.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Nealis ◽  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractInteractions between Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner and Apanteles fumiferanae Viereck as mortality factors of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), were investigated by placing parasitized and nonparasitized budworm larvae on foliage with and without spray deposits of a commercial formulation of B. thuringiensis. The effect of larval age (and, thus, the timing of spray applications) was examined by using peak third-instar and peak fourth-instar larvae. We demonstrated that parasitized larvae are more likely to survive exposure to B. thuringiensis because they feed less than non-parasitized larvae and are thus less likely to acquire a lethal dose of the bacterium. Bacillus thuringiensis nevertheless reduced parasitoid populations by 50–60% by killing their hosts before parasitoid emergence. This negative impact of B. thuringiensis on parasitoid survival was decreased when exposure of budworm larvae to spray deposits was delayed from peak third to peak fourth instar. The enhanced survival of parasitoids offset the lower mortality as a result of B. thuringiensis in the delayed sprays. We conclude that B. thuringiensis applied when budworm larval populations are at peak fourth instar or later would complement rather than interfere with the beneficial effects of A. fumiferanae. The implications for budworm management strategies are discussed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 142 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen ◽  
Sylvain Espinasse

AbstractLaboratory observations revealed that late-instar larvae of the eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) spend most of their time spinning, wandering, and resting; less than 10% is spent feeding. Larvae feed in a discontinuous pattern of short feeding bouts separated by much longer intervals of nonfeeding activity. Over a 2 h observation period, feeding bouts averaged 2.2 min and were separated by 17.4 min intervals for 4th-instar larvae as compared to 3.3 min bouts separated by 33.4 min intervals for 5th-instar larvae. The duration of a feeding bout was positively correlated with the duration of the subsequent interval, not with the duration of preceding intervals, suggesting that feeding-bout frequency is governed primarily by post-ingestion processes. It is postulated that short feeding bouts followed by long intervals limit the window for ingesting an efficacious dose of aerially applied insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis.


1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kees van Frankenhuyzen

AbstractExperiments were conducted using balsam fir twigs treated with Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner to examine the influence of temperature and exposure time on mortality of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens. Twigs were sprayed with a commercial formulation (8.4 BIU/L) using droplets of 40–70 μm diameter at densities, ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 droplets per needle. Temperature affected progression but not the level of cumulative mortality during 14 days of feeding on sprayed foliage. The LT50 decreased from 12–17 days at 13°C to 2–4 days at 25°C, depending on droplet density. Temperature between 13 and 25°C had a limited effect on dose acquisition because 40–60% of the larvae were able to acquire a lethal dose within 1 day of feeding on foliage with 0.5–1.5 droplets per needle, regardless of temperature. Under these conditions dose acquisition was not limited by temperature-dependent consumption of foliage, but rather by feeding inhibition associated with the dose initially ingested. This also limited the influence of exposure time; a 7- or 14-fold increase in exposure time increased larval mortality at most by 25%. Implications of these findings for improving efficacy of B. thuringiensis in forestry applications are discussed.


1995 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Gordon

AbstractGreenhouse trials were conducted to evaluate the effect of treating adult and egg stages of the eastern spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), with Insegar, a water-based commercial formulation of the juvenile hormone analog fenoxycarb, or with water (controls) at droplet sizes and densities comparable to what would be achieved through aerial spraying of field populations. When adult moths were sprayed with the juvenoid at dosages equivalent to 15.5, 155.4, and 310.8 g AI/ha, approximately 90% of the eggs that were subsequently oviposited failed to hatch. The efficacy of the compound (60% suppression of egg hatch) was not as high when the egg stages were sprayed directly at 15.5 and 155.4 g AI/ha. Insegar did not affect the egg productivity of the moths.


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