The efficacy of natural enemies as biological control agents against insect pests can theoretically be enhanced by artificial selection for high responsiveness to foraging cues. The recent discovery that maize roots damaged by the western corn rootworm (WCR) emit a key attractant for insect-killing nematodes has opened the way to explore whether a selection strategy can improve the control of r...

Abstract Background Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have the potential to supersede larvicidal activity for management of various insect pests. Result Lab experiments were conducted test pathogenicity 2 EPNs local species; Steinernema feltiae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora at different (IJs/cm ) concentrations against cabbage butterfly, Pieris brassicae (L.). The native isolate was obtaine...

Fitness costs can delay pest resistance to crops that produce insecticidal toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), and past research has found that entomopathogens impose fitness costs of Bt resistance. In addition, entomopathogens can be used for integrated pest management by providing biological control of pests. The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera...

Parasitic nematode species often display highly specialized host-seeking behaviors that reflect their specific host preferences. Many such behaviors are triggered by host odors, but little is known about either the specific olfactory cues that trigger these behaviors or the underlying neural circuits. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema carpocapsae are phylogenetically distant insect-...

Diabrotica virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious pest that infects maize. Insecticides or entomopathogenic nematodes are used to control the root-damaging larvae. However, such treatments reportedly inconsistent in terms of efficacy under farming conditions. To better understand reasons behind these inconsistencies, we studied seed coatings, as clothianidin; granular soil insectici...

The Diaprepes root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) is a major pest of citrus, ornamentals, and vegetables in Florida and the Caribbean. Entomopathogenic nematodes can provide substantial control of the root feeding larvae, but their efÞcacy can be affected by soil type. Our objective was to determine the effects of three soil types on the control of D. abbreviatus with Steinernema riobrave (C...

BACKGROUND In order to increase our knowledge on the susceptibility of entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) species to agrochemicals, the compatibility of the infective juveniles (IJs) of the EPN (Steinernema and Heterorhabditis) with eight chemical and bio-insecticides was investigated under laboratory conditions. The effect of direct IJ exposure to insecticides for 6 and 24 h was tested in a Petri...

Widespread planting of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) imposes selection on many key agricultural pests to evolve resistance to Bt. Fitness costs can slow the evolution of Bt resistance. We examined effects of entomopathogenic nematodes on Þtness costs of Bt resistance in the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saun...

Different species and strains of pathogens and predators differ in their effectiveness as biological control agents of insects. These differences have been well documented for predatory insects, parasitoids, and a number of entomopathogens (9). The importance of such interspecific and intraspecific variation has been recognized and demonstrated for insect-parasitic steinernematids and heterorha...