Evaluation of larvicidal activity and effects on post embrionary development of laboratory reared Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), treated with Brevibacillus laterosporus.

The blowfly Lucilia cuprina is an economically important livestock pest that is also associated with human myiasis. To date, methods including the application of chemical pesticides, plant extracts, insect growth regulators and a range of Bacillus thuringiensis strains have been used, with varying degrees of success, to control this pest. The present study evaluated the larvicidal activity and the induction of sub lethal effects upon post embrionary development following ingestion of 12 strains of Brevibacillus laterosporus, presented individually in the diet as spores. All strains were shown to be larvicidal, with corrected mortality levels of 29 to 54%. No significant differences were observed, in terms of larval weight at the time of abandoning the diet, in the time taken for the initiation of the pupation process, in the duration of the pupation process, the period of adult emergence or cumulative mortality during the transition from larvae to adult. However, an influence upon sex ratio was observed. This study suggests that strains of B. laterosporus hold potential for development as a tool in the biological control of L. cuprina.