Toxicity of an isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies darmstadiensis to adults of the Mexican fruit fly (diptera: (Diptera:Tephritidae) in the laboratory.
Centrifugation pellets obtained from an isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies darmstadiensis (Guat 1) cultured from a Guatemalan soil sample were found to be toxic to Anastrepha ludens (Loew) adults in the laboratory. We developed a bioassay diet that consisted of a mixture of the bacterium, a protein source, and sugar. A pH of 4.1 of the mixture was needed to obtain maximum adult mortality. One meal of the diet, which lasted from 30 s to 4 min, was enough to cause > 70% mortality of both fed or starved adults. Mortality of fed adults was 70-75% following a feeding period of 60 min and mortality of starved adults was 80-90% following a feeding period of 30 min. The isolate was toxic to adults from 1 to 21 d old.
Martinez
A J
AJ
Mission Biological Control Center, USDA, TX 78573, USA.
Robacker
D C
DC
Garcia
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis; D004175:Diptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D010572:Pest Control, Biological; D013045:Species Specificity; D013997:Time Factors