Gs. Miranpuri et Gg. Khachatourians, ENTOMOPATHOGENICITY OF BEAUVERIA-BASSIANA TOWARD FLEA BEETLES, PHYLLOTRETA-CRUCIFERAE GOEZE (COL, CHRYSOMELIDAE), Journal of applied entomology, 119(2), 1995, pp. 167-170
A series of bioassays were conducted on flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruci
ferae ae using various strains/isolates of Beauveria bassiana. Flea be
etles were sprayed with a conidiospore suspension of 10(8) spores/ml i
n different experiments. Fungus-treated and water-treated beetles were
placed in groups of 10-50 insects in various bioassay containers incl
uding cups, jars, and cages and maintained on a fresh supply of host p
lant. Insect mortality was monitored daily. The LT(50) values found in
B. bassiana ranged from a low of 1.9 for DAOM 210569 to a high of 16.
6 for ATCC 44860. In addition to this, the results of 6 experiments of
two most stable and highly sporulating strains of B. bassiana GK 2016
and SG 8702 in our laboratory showed a variation in their LT(50) valu
es 4.3 +/- 1.7 and 2.8 +/- 1.6 days, respectively. The mortality data
was supported by examination of mummified cadavers. In different exper
iments 50-90% of the cadavers showed fungal mummification within 7 day
s depending upon the isolate tested. The results indicated that some s
trains of B. bassiana are pathogenic toward the flea beetle.