<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The pink hibiscus mealybug <italic>Maconellicoccus hirsutus</italic> (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive pest of an enormous variety of crops and has become a concern in many parts of the world. Early attempts to control <italic>M. hirsutus</italic> with chemical insecticides and cultural methods have failed due to the cryptic habit of the insect. We assessed the entomopathogenic nematode <italic>Heterorhabditis amazonensis</italic> as a biological agent against different insect stages. Comparing different concentrations of the nematode, insect females were very susceptible, with more than 90% of the insects killed. In second and third nymphal stages mortality rates varied from 20 to 60% depending on the nematode concentration. The first nymphal stage as much less susceptible to nematodes due to their small size. The number of nematodes capable of invading the insect host did not vary between the different concentrations. However, the LC50 for females (35.2 IJ/insect), second and third nymphal stages (83.9 IJ/insect) demonstrated that <italic>H. amazonensis</italic> should be considered as a potential biocontrol agent of the pink hibiscus mealybug.</p>
</abstract>

The pink hibiscus mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive pest of an enormous variety of crops and has become a concern in many parts of the world. Early attempts to control M. hirsutus with chemical insecticides and cultural methods have failed due to the cryptic habit of the insect. We assessed the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis amazonensis as a biological agent against different insect stages. Comparing different concentrations of the nematode, insect females were very susceptible, with more than 90% of the insects killed. In second and third nymphal stages mortality rates varied from 20 to 60% depending on the nematode concentration. The first nymphal stage as much less susceptible to nematodes due to their small size. The number of nematodes capable of invading the insect host did not vary between the different concentrations. However, the LC50 for females (35.2 IJ/insect), second and third nymphal stages (83.9 IJ/insect) demonstrated that H. amazonensis should be considered as a potential biocontrol agent of the pink hibiscus mealybug.

Infection parameters of <italic>Heterorhabditis amazonensis</italic> (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) in different stages of Hibiscus pink mealybug

Journal of Nematology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Infection parameters of  (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) in different stages of Hibiscus pink mealybug

running-head

The pink hibiscus mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive pest of an enormous variety of crops and has become a concern in...

Maconellicoccus hirsutus
Stage	Concentration (IJs)	Median (IJs)	First quartile	Third quartile
Females	20	0.5	0	6
	40	6	5	9
	60	4.5	3	10
	80	4.5	3	19
	100	22 a	8	22
2nd and 3rd stages	20	0	0	0
	40	0	2	8
	60	0	5	6
	80	1	0	3
	100	4	5	11
Crawlers	20	0	0	0
	40	0	0	0
	60	0	0	0
	80	1	0	1
	100	1	0	1

Stage	LD₅₀	LD₇₅	LD₉₀
Females	35.2	64.5	106.7
2nd and 3rd stages	83.9	127.6	190.5
Crawlers	142.7	189.7	257.2

Infection parameters of Heterorhabditis amazonensis (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) in different stages of Hibiscus pink mealybug

Data publikacji: 21 lip 2020

Zakres stron: 1 - 7

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-077

Słowa kluczowe
Biocontrol, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Pest control

© 2020 Yvan Fuenmayor et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Median number of Heterorhabditis amazonensis capable to invade different developmental stages of Maconellicoccus hirsutus.

Lethal concentrations of Heterorhabditis amazonensis to kill different stages of Maconellicoccus hirsutus.

Infection parameters of Heterorhabditis amazonensis (Nematoda: Heterorhabditidae) in different stages of Hibiscus pink mealybug

Data publikacji: 21 lip 2020

Zakres stron: 1 - 7

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-077

Słowa kluczoweBiocontrol, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Pest control

© 2020 Yvan Fuenmayor et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Median number of Heterorhabditis amazonensis capable to invade different developmental stages of Maconellicoccus hirsutus.

Lethal concentrations of Heterorhabditis amazonensis to kill different stages of Maconellicoccus hirsutus.

Słowa kluczowe
Biocontrol, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Pest control