Preliminary field tests on the use ofMetarhizium anisopliaefor the control ofNasutitermes exitiosus(Hill) (Isoptera: Termitidae)

Abstract

The insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae caused heavy mortality in laboratory groups of the Australian termite Nasutitermes exitiosus (Hill) to which infected workers had been added. Conidia of M. anisopliae started an epizootic when introduced into field colonies of N. exitiosus near Canberra, irrespective of whether the termites were treated by dusting or spraying in the mound itself, or dusting in nearby feeding sites. In some cases, the disease persisted for at least 15 weeks, and by this time few healthy termites could be found in almost half the treated colonies. Samples of workers taken from treated colonies showed high levels of contamination by Metarhizium, irrespective of the state of the colony, but the factors that inhibited the completion of fungal development in the nest are unknown.

Laboratory Evaluations of Four Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Control of Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

“…It may be too early to say so. Pathogens such as Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin have been continuously studied even though they have not been successful in the Þeld for termite control, except for one preliminary test by Hänel (1983). There is a lot to learn about nematode biology, ecology, and relationships with their hosts.…”

Comparison of volatile blends and gene sequences of two isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae of different virulence and repellency toward the termite Macrotermes michaelseni

“…To mitigate disease risks from these microbes in their microenvironments, termites have evolved behavioural, biochemical and immunological adaptions (Rosengaus et al, 1999;Rosengaus et al, 2000;Traniello et al, 2002;Rosengaus et al, 2004). These traits account for the lack of microbial epizootics in nests of termites (Hänel and Watson, 1983;Rath, 2000;Cremer et al, 2007).…”

Metarhiziumanisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin as an alternative to chemical pesticides against Odontotermesobesus (Rambur) in the era of organic agriculture

“…The study of pathogens for termite control started (Smythe et al, 1965) as early as 1965 (Yendol et al, 1965) and most of this studies were focussed on B. bassiana (Culliney, et al, 2000), (Grace, 1997) and M. anisopliae. Both of these fungal species proved to be effective against termites (Hanel,et al, 1983) in laboratory studies but had little success (Lai, 1997) in field trials. The main reason for the failure of pathogens under field conditions against termites is the social behaviour (Milner et al, 1996) of these insects, i.e., the avoidance and sealing off the diseased termites and grooming among nest mates (Rath, 2000).…”