Journal of the Australian Entomological Society (1978) 17, 293-296

R.J. Milner (1978)
On the occurrence of Entomophthora grylli, a fungal pathogen of grasshoppers in Australia
Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 17 (4), 293-296
Abstract: The fungus Entomophthora grylli is reported killing three species of grasshopper in Australia: Praxibulus sp., Bermius brachycerus and Acrida conica. Two other common species, Gastrimargus musicus and Phaulacridium vittatum, were not infected. Observations were made on the timing of host death, the development of conidia and resting spores, and the distribution of the disease which was more or less restricted to a well-watered garden area in Armidale, New South Wales, although isolated epizootics elsewhere suggested that the pathogen was more widely distributed. This is the first record of E. grylli from Australia, although some specimens of grasshoppers in the Australian National Insect Collection show symptoms of the disease. The wide host range includes only a single serious pest, Chortoicetes terminifera, and mass production and environmental problems limit the use of this pathogen as a biological control agent in Australia.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied from Acridological Abstracts with permission by NRI, Univ. of Greenwich at Medway.)
Full text of article
Database assignments for author(s): Richard J. Milner

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Chortoicetes terminifera		Australia (South+SE)
Entomophaga grylli (entomopathogen)	Chortoicetes terminifera		Australia (South+SE)