Entomophthora leyteensis Villacarlos & Keller sp. nov. (Entomophthorales: Zygomycetes) infecting Tetraleurodes acaciae (Quaintance) (Insecta, Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a recently introduced whitefly on Gliricidia sepium (Jaq.) Walp. (Fabaceae) in the Philippines.
Entomophthora leyteensis Villacarlos & Keller sp. nov., a species of Entomophthorales infecting the whitefly Tetraleurodes acaciae on Gliricidia sepium in the Philippines is described. Disease prevalence monitored weekly for 8 weeks indicated that the fungus could cause 8-31% infection within the whitefly population. Epizootics due to this fungus occurred in Inopacan, Leyte. Sampling live whitefly adults and dissecting them on glass slides for microscopic examination of fungal structures was found to give a better measure of prevalence than actual counts of infected insect cadavers. E. leyteensis is an important mortality factor for T. acaciae. Some speculations on the origin of the fungus are discussed here.
Department of Pest Management, Leyte State University, Visca, Baybay 6521-A, Leyte, Philippines. villa23carlos@yahoo.com
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D000818:Animals; D020091:Entomophthorales / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000469:parasitology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010679:Philippines; D010944:Plants / Q000469:parasitology; D011891:Rain; D020096:Zygomycosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology