PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF PATHOGENS AFFECTING Eleodes longicollis punctigerus BLAISDELL (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE)

Abstract

The false wire-worm Eleodes longicollis punctigerus, despite of been registered more than 30 years ago, is until now considered as an emerging pest in some areas of the Sabana de Bogotá, in Colombia. Therefore, within an integrated management program, the use of biological control agents have to be considered.Under field conditions, larvae and adult wireworms were found to be affected by pathogenic microorganisms, such as Paecilomyces sp., Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae and nematodes. Preliminary studies to determine their pathogenicity in the laboratory were undertaken, showinging that none of them were highly pathogenic. An alternative explanation may be that E. longicollis may be tolerant to the infection or the spore concentration used was to low, because the highest larval mortality observed was only 20% with the treatment pos. Paecilomyces sp., at 1x10(7)spore concentrations. Adult mortality of 22.5% with M. anisopliae at 1x10(7)was obtained. It was also found that the insect is susceptible to nematodes. Both nematodes and fungi should be studied under other conditions, with higher concentrations, in order to be incorporated as a complement into a strategy of preventive control.

Keywords

• False wire-worm
• micro-biologic control
• fungi
• nematode