Occurrence of Entomopathogenic Fungi from Agricultural and Natural Ecosystems in Saltillo, México, and their Virulence Towards Thrips and Whiteflies

Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi were collected from soil in four adjacent habitats (oak forest, agricultural soil, pine reforestation and chaparral habitat) in Saltillo, México using the insect bait method with Tenebrio molitor (L.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) larvae as bait. Overall, of the larvae exposed to soil, 171 (20%) hosted Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae), 25 (3%) hosted Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and 1 (0.1%) hosted lsaria (=Paecilomyces) sp. (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae). B. bassiana was significantly more frequent on larvae exposed to oak forest soil. M. anisopliae was significantly more frequent on larvae exposed to agricultural soil. From the infected bait insects, 93 isolates of B. bassiana and 24 isolates of M. anisopliae were obtained. Strains were tested for their infectivity against Cuban laurel thrips, Gynaikothrips uzeli Zimmerman (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae) and the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). B. bassiana isolates caused the highest mortality on thrips (some causing 88% mortality after 6 days); both fungal species caused similarly high mortality levels against whiteflies (75%) after 6 days. Large amounts of germplasm of entomopathogenic fungi, fundamentally B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, exist in the habitats sampled; pathogenicity varied among strains, and some strains possessed significant virulence. Soils in these habitats are reservoirs of diverse strains with potential for use in biocontrol.

Entomopathogenic fungi in Portuguese vineyards soils: suggesting a ‘Galleria-Tenebrio-bait method’ as bait-insects Galleria and Tenebrio significantly underestimate the respective recoveries of Metarhizium (robertsii) and Beauveria (bassiana)

“…Higher isolations of Metarhizium spp. from crop cultivated lands in Spain and Mexico have been reported (QuesadaMoraga et al 2007, Sánchez-Peña et al 2011. Tillage seemed to distribute Metarhizium CFUs evenly throughout the field which subsequently increases chances of fungal recovery from different sites (Kepler et al 2015).…”

“…Numerous investigations have relied only on this method of EPF isolation (Chandler et al 1997, Bidochka et al 1998, Ali-Shtayeh et al 2003, Meyling and Eilenberg 2006, Quesada-Moraga et al 2007, Sevim et al 2009, Fisher et al 2011, Muñiz-Reyes et al 2014, Pérez-González et al 2014, Fernández-Salas et al 2017, Gan and Wickings 2017, Kirubakaran et al 2018. The bait-insect Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) has also been used solely in some studies (Sánchez-Peña et al 2011, Aguilera Sammaritano et al 2016.…”

Unveiling of a cryptic Dicranomyia (Idiopyga) from northern Finland using integrative approach (Diptera, Limoniidae)

“…Warnstorffia , Scorpidium , Paludella ). The species was especially abundant on two closely lying intermediate rich, Sphagnum dominated aapamires in Enontekiö, NW Finnish Lapland, but single specimens were also caught along a spring and a headwater stream (Salmela 2011a). The species is on the wing from mid August to early September.…”

“…Species of the subgenus occur around temperate and subarctic wetlands (e.g. Alexander 1927, Tjeder 1958, Przhiboro 2003, Salmela 2011b), and some species favour or tolerate elevated concentration of salt (brackish water or salt marshes, Salmela 2010, Devyatkov 2013). …”

Entomopathogenic Fungi as an Important Natural Regulator of Insect Outbreaks in Forests (Review)

“…The ability of M. anisopliae to persist in cultivated soils is well established. Therefore the first is more frequent in forest, and second in arable soils (Rath et al, 1992;Vänninen, 1995;Quesada-Moraga et al, 2007;Sánchez-Peña et al, 2011).…”