The relationships were surveyed among an introduced nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AgNPV), populations of its larval host Anticarsia gemmatalis, and other invertebrates associated with soybean. Early applications of AgNPV to small plots effectively suppressed A. gemmatalis populations without causing detectable perturbations in populations of other phytophagous insects or invertebrate predators. Bioassays of predators collected within and outside treated areas demonstrated that many invertebrates readily fed upon AgNPV-infected A. gemmatalis under field conditions. These results suggest that the predator complex enhances the epidemic potential of this baculovirus. The predators, by feeding upon virus infected larvae, are believed to play an important role in maintaining and disseminating virus inoculum in soybean.
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