Environmental Entomology (1982) 11, 1274-1279

T.R. Gottwald and W.L. Tedders (1982)
Studies on conidia release by the entomogenous fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes) from adult pecan weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) cadavers
Environmental Entomology 11 (6), 1274-1279
Abstract: Conidia release by Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae from diseased adult pecan weevils was studied under controlled conditions of relative humidity (RH), temperature, vegetative wetness (VW), and red-infrared radiation (IR). Decreasing RH, from near saturation to 50%, induced only minimal conidia release by both fungi; further lowering of RH below 50% stimulated considerable release. Under conditions of low RH, conidia release by B. bassiana was further enhanced by exposure of specimens to IR, whereas IR had an inconsistent effect on conidia release by M. anisopliae. Sustained periods of constant RH <40% also favored some conidia release but always less than that accompanying RH changes. Conidia release was only recorded during periods of low VW (<5%). Vibration triggered massive conidia release by both fungi which was further enhanced at lower RH levels and by darkness. B. bassiana consistently released 10 to 200 times more conidia than M. anisopliae from an equivalent number of infected weevils.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Timothy R. Gottwald

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
transmission/dispersal
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Curculio caryae	Pecan/hickory (Carya)
Beauveria bassiana (entomopathogen)	Curculio caryae	Pecan/hickory (Carya)
Metarhizium anisopliae (entomopathogen)	Curculio caryae	Pecan/hickory (Carya)