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Infectivity of Metarhizium anisopliae (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes) isolates to the arboreal termite Odontotermes sp. (Isoptera: Termitidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2009

M. Balachander ,
O.K. Remadevi ,
T.O. Sasidharan  and
N. Sapna Bai
M. Balachander
Affiliation:
Wood Biodegradation Division, Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleswaram, Bangalore560 003, India
O.K. Remadevi*
Affiliation:
Wood Biodegradation Division, Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Malleswaram, Bangalore560 003, India
T.O. Sasidharan
Affiliation:
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Jakkur PO, Bangalore560 064, India
N. Sapna Bai
Affiliation:
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Jakkur PO, Bangalore560 064, India
*
*E-mail: okremadevi@icfre.org; okremadevi@gmail.com
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Abstract

Infectivity of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae against workers of the arboreal termite Odontotermes sp. was assayed under laboratory conditions. Test isolates were collected from different sources, including soil from varied locations and insect hosts from the orders Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and Orthoptera. All the 23 isolates tested and the standard (ARSEF 7413) were pathogenic to the workers of Odontotermes sp. at a concentration of 107 conidia/ml, with mean mortality ranging from 57.5 to 100%. Two of the isolates (Ma2, Ma13) and the standard caused 100% mortality in the termite species. A detailed bioassay was subsequently conducted with the five most promising isolates, namely Ma1, Ma2, Ma13, Ma16 and Ma17, at concentrations ranging from 104 to 107 conidia/ml. The lethal concentrations (LC50) of these isolates ranged from 0.01 to 0.46 × 105 conidia/ml. The average survival time (AST) for the termites treated with the most virulent isolate (Ma2) varied from 4.2 to 5.7 days across the four spore loads, while AST with the standard isolate ranged from 5.3 to 6.3 days. Two of the isolates, Ma2 and Ma13, were found to be significantly more pathogenic to Odontotermes sp. workers than all the others, including the standard.

Keywords

arboreal termiteOdontotermes sp.,fungusMetarhizium anisopliaepathogenicitymycotermiticidebiological control
Type
Research Paper
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 29 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 202 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 2009

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