Susceptibility of preimaginal western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin Clavicipitaceae (Hypocreales)

Impact ofMetarhizium brunneum(Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on pre-imaginalRhagoletis indifferens(Diptera: Tephritidae) within and on the surface of orchard soil

“…Cossentine, Thistlewood, Goettel, and Jaronski (2010) demonstrated pre-imaginal R. indifferens susceptibility to Beauveria bassiana incorporated into soil, based on the incidence of abnormal pupal development and mycosis and the assumption that these insects would not result in viable adults. The objective of the present study was to similarly evaluate if a commercial strain of M. brunneum (formerly M. anisopliae) can infect and cause mortality in pre-imaginal R. indifferens within non-sterile orchard soil.…”

“…Larval R. indifferens were reared on an agar-based diet (Cossentine et al 2010) and were judged appropriate for use in the study based on their size and behavior (i.e., exited diet to seek a pupation site, AliNiazee and Brown 1977). All larvae immediately began to descend into the soil when placed on the soil surface.…”

“…A silty-loam (60% silt, 20% sand, 20% clay) soil obtained from a non-chemically treated cherry orchard in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, was airdried before use (Cossentine et al 2010). For incorporation of M. brunneum into the soil, sufficient sterile dH 2 O was used with the appropriate conidial concentration to result in concentrations of 0, 10 5 , 10 6 , 10 7 , and 10 8 conidia g (1 soil with a moisture level of 20% of the soil's water holding capacity (WHC) (0.12 mL H 2 O g (1 soil).…”

“…The health of each puparium was visually evaluated and the developing imago (pupa) aseptically removed, examined and placed on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubated to allow the growth of M. brunneum if present (Cossentine et al 2010). Active Metarhizium was judged to be M. brunneum F52 solely based on its color and conidia morphology.…”

Mulch type and moisture level affect pupation depth of Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the laboratory

“…In addition, shallow pupation could increase the effectiveness of soil drenches of reduced-risk insecticides or biopesticides. On the other hand, lower temperatures and increased moisture at greater depths could reduce pupal survival and emergence success by promoting pathogens (Cossentine et al 2010) or alter timing of adult fly emergence the following summer.…”