Accumulation of Fungal Pathogens Infecting the Invasive Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula

Abstract

In the eastern United States, populations of the invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, are abundant and spreading. Four species of naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungi have previously been reported as infecting these planthoppers, with two of these causing epizootics. Nymphal- and adult-stage lanternflies in Pennsylvania and New York were surveyed for entomopathogenic fungal infections from October 2021 to November 2023, and assays were conducted to confirm the pathogenicity of species that were potentially pathogenic. Beauveria bassiana was the most abundant pathogen, but we report an additional 15 previously unreported species of entomopathogenic fungi infecting spotted lanternflies, all in the order Hypocreales (Ascomycota). The next most common pathogens were Fusarium fujikuroi and Sarocladium strictum. While infection prevalence by species was often low, probably impacted to some extent by the summer drought in 2022, together these pathogens caused a total of 6.7% mortality. A significant trend was evident over time within a season, with low levels of infection among nymphs and higher infection levels in mid- and late-stage adults, the stages when mating and oviposition occur.

Efficacy and Persistence of Entomopathogenic Fungi against Rhynchophorus ferrugineus on Date Palm: Host to Host Transmission

“…Mycosed cadavers play a key role in regulating the pest population by producing conidia, which may cause secondary infection and increase the persistence of the pathogen for a longer period [73]. We observed that some cadavers did not show any fungal outgrowth, which was similar to the studies by [74] in which no fungal outgrowth on the surface of Lycorma delicatula (White) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) living insects was observed and rarely from cadavers; however, the growth appeared when incubated under humid conditions in the laboratory. Due to their concealed nature, and suitable humid condition inside the palm tree, mycosed cadavers may play a significant role for secondary infection of R. ferrugineus.…”

Ability of commercial Beauveria bassiana to suppress the brown planthopper attack by inducing resistance into different rice variety

“…Beauveria bassiana can suppress Spodoptera litura larvae up to 95% (Trizelia et al 2017;Afandhi et al 2020) and Nezara viridula up to 66.67% (Permadi et al 2019), reaching 100% 5 days after application (Siahaan et al 2021). Beauveria bassiana reduced 48% of Lycorma delicatula nymphs formed after 14 days of application (Hajek et al 2023). Beauveria bassiana can also control BPH, with mortality reaching 85-95% at a density of 10 8 -10 9 conidia (Ihsan et al 2023).…”