DOI: n/a
Abstract
The efficacy of five commercial entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) strains was tasted in the laboratory against neonate larvae and adults of Perotis lugubris. The screened and compared nematode strains included two of Steinernema carpocapsae (SC(1) and SC(2)), and one of S. kraussei (SK), S. feltiae (SF) and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HB). Neonate larvae of the beetle were exposed to two concentrations of infective juveniles (IJ) of EPNs – 50 and 100 IJ/ cm2. The strains of S. carpocapsae caused the highest mortality of P. lugubris larvae at the two tasted doses, reaching 93.4 and 95.2%, respectively. At a concentration of 100 IJ/ cm2 the strains SC(2) and SK caused infection and mortality of pest larvae more quickly than the other tasted strains. Significant differences in the mortality rate between P. lugubris males and females were observed. Excluding strain HB, all the other screened strains were more virulent to males rather than to females.