Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae to Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Effects on Adult Longevity

Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) is among the most important fruit pests in South America, and the use of entomopathogenic fungi is considered a promising alternative for its control. The objective of this work was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin on larvae and pupae of A. fraterculus, along with fungal effects on adult fly longevity. Fungal inoculations, fly larvae or pupae were placed in Petri dishes with 1 mL/plate, and the concentrations of 10, 15, 20 and 25 grams of commercial product/liter of water. Controls received water only. To evaluate the residual effect on adult flies, emerging adults were transferred to clean arenas and the adult longevity was monitored. Beauveria bassiana and M. anisopliae caused 93.3 and 96.7% larval mortality and 14.0 and 15.0% pupal mortality, respectively. The estimated LC50 and LC90 values were 22.56 and 40.87 g/L for B. bassiana, and of 23.45 and 42.02 g/L for M. anisopliae. Infected adult insects had shorter longevity than non-infected insects, with mean survival of 8.0 and 83.5 days for B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, respectively.