Sookar P, Bhagwant S, Allymamod M N
1 Entomology Division, Agricultural Services, Ministry of Agro Industry & Food Security, Republic of Mauritius.
J Insect Sci. 2014;14:100. doi: 10.1673/031.014.100.
In Mauritius, the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata Saunders (Diptera: Tephritidae), and the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), are the major pest of fruits and vegetables, respectively. Fruit growers make use of broad-spectrum insecticides to protect their crops from fruit fly attack. This method of fruit fly control is hazardous to the environment and is a threat to beneficial insects. The entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae), which was isolated from the soils of Mauritius, was used to investigate whether fungus-treated adult fruit flies could transfer conidia to non-treated flies during mating, and whether fungal infection could have an effect on mating behavior, fecundity, and fertility of the two female fruit fly species. When treated male flies were maintained together with non-treated female flies, they were able to transmit infection to untreated females, resulting in high mortalities. Similarly, fungus-infected female flies mixed with untreated males also transmitted infections to males, also resulting in high mortalities. Infection by M. anisopliae also resulted in the reduction of the number of eggs produced by females of B. cucurbitae. The results suggest that M. anisopliae may have potential for use in integrated control programs of B. zonata and B. cucurbitae using the sterile insect technique in Mauritius.
在毛里求斯，桃实蝇，即桑氏果实蝇（双翅目：实蝇科），以及瓜实蝇，即黄瓜实蝇（科基列特），分别是水果和蔬菜的主要害虫。果农使用广谱杀虫剂来保护他们的作物免受果蝇侵害。这种果蝇防治方法对环境有害，并且对益虫构成威胁。从毛里求斯土壤中分离出的昆虫病原真菌，即绿僵菌（梅奇尼科夫）索罗金（肉座菌目：麦角菌科），被用于研究经真菌处理的成年果蝇在交配过程中是否能将分生孢子传染给未处理的果蝇，以及真菌感染是否会对这两种雌性果蝇的交配行为、繁殖力和生育力产生影响。当经处理的雄蝇与未处理的雌蝇饲养在一起时，它们能够将感染传播给未处理的雌蝇，导致高死亡率。同样，感染真菌的雌蝇与未处理的雄蝇混合也会将感染传播给雄蝇，也导致高死亡率。绿僵菌感染还导致黄瓜实蝇雌蝇产卵数量减少。结果表明，在毛里求斯利用不育昆虫技术，绿僵菌可能有潜力用于桑氏果实蝇和黄瓜实蝇的综合防治计划。
