Pathogenicity of conidia-based preparations of entomopathogenic fungi against the greenhouse pest aphids Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii, and Aulacorthum solani (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

• Novel and commercial isolates of Beaveria, Metarhizium and Isaria were compared.
• No isolate with high efficacy was identified for nymphal greenhouse pest aphids.
• Greater efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi was seen against adult aphids.
• Fungal infection did not affect pre-mortem reproduction of adult aphids.
• Barriers surrounding use of fungi as control agents for aphids are discussed.

Seeking new isolates of entomopathogenic fungi with greater virulence against greenhouse aphid pests than those currently registered in North America for control of these insects, single-dose screening assays of 44 selected fungal isolates and 4 commercially available strains were conducted against first-instar nymphs of Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii. The assays identified a number of Beauveria and Metarhizium isolates with virulence equal to or greater than that of the commercial strains against the nymphal aphids, but none exhibited exceptionally high virulence. Virulence of Isaria isolates was unexpectedly low (<31% mortality at doses >1000 conidia/mm2). In dose–response assays, Beauveria ARSEF 5493 proved most virulent against M. persicae and A. gossypii; however, LC50s of this isolate did not differ significantly from those of B. bassiana commercial strain JW-1. Dose–response assays were also conducted with Aulacorthum solani, the first reported evaluations of Beauveria and Metarhizium against this pest. The novel isolate Metarhizium 5471 showed virulence ⩾ that of Beauveria 5493 in terms of LC25 and LC50, but 5493 produced a steeper dose response (slope). Additional tests showed that adult aphids are more susceptible than nymphs to fungal infection but confirmed that infection has a limited pre-mortem effect on aphid reproduction. Effects of assay techniques and the potential of fungal pathogens as aphid-control agents are discussed.

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