Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society (2018) 50, 9-16

Rosemary Gutierrez-Coarite, Wade P. Heller, Mark G Wright, Javier Mollinedo, Lisa Keith, Lionel Sugiyama and Stacey Chun (2018)
Entomopathogenic fungi as mortality factors of macadamia felted coccid, Eriococcus ironsidei (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) in Hawaii
Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 50, 9-16
Abstract: Entomopathogenic fungi are considered to play a vital role as a biologi- cal control agent of many insect populations. Different entomopathogenic fungi were observed infecting Eriococcus ironsidei Williams (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) in a macadamia nut orchard in Honokaa, Hawaii. Here, we report the results of the isolation of the unidentified fungal pathogens observed infecting E. ironsidei on macadamia leaves and their identification using molecular techniques. We evaluated the susceptibility of E. ironsidei to the isolated fungi and to one commercial formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana. To assess whether any of the isolated pathogens have potential to serve as biocontrol agents, E. ironsidei was exposed to isolated fungi. Identified entomopathogens were Chlorocillium griseum and Pleurodesmospora coccorum. Results of this study confirmed that C. griseum, P. coccorum, and B. bassiana cause mortality in E. ironsidei up to 67%, 78%, and 100%, respectively. The present investigation indicates that E. ironsidei is highly susceptible to these fungi and they may have a role in regulating insect pest populations.
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Database assignments for author(s): Mark G. Wright, Lisa M. Keith

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acanthococcus ironsidei	Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)
Beauveria bassiana (entomopathogen)	Acanthococcus ironsidei	Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)