Biological Control of Mosquito Larvae by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis

Abstract

Chemical insecticides provide many benefits to food production and human health and has proven very effective at increasing agriculture and forestry productivities. However, they also pose some hazards as contamination of water and food sources, poisoning of non-target fauna and flora, concentration in the food chain and selection of insect pest populations resistent to the chemical insecticides (Wojciech & Korsten 2002). It is well documented that chemical pesticides reduced natural-enemy populations and chemical applications can disrupt biological control and may cause outbreaks of secundary pests previously suppressed by natural enemies (Bartlett, 1964) and pest species develop pesticide resistance but natural enemies not (Johnson & Tabashnick, 1999). The use of synthetic organic pesticides has had serious economic, social and environmental ramifications. Economically, the rapidy increasing cost for development and production of petrochemically derived insecticides, together with the declining effectiveness due to widespread insect resistance. As a result the chemical pesticide industry continues to develop new more expensive compounds and increasing pesticide prices. Socially and ecologically they have caused death and disease in human and damaged the environment. It is estimated that only a minute fraction of the insecticides applied is required for suppression of the target pest. The remainder, more than 99.9%, enters the environment through soil, water and food cycles (Metcalf, 1986). Alternative methods of insect management offer adequate levels of pest control and pose fewer hazards. One such alternative is the use of microbial insecticides, that contain microorganisms or their by-products. Microbial insecticides are especially valuable because their toxicity to non-target animals and humans is extremely low. Compared to other commonly used insecticides, they are safe for both, the pesticide user and consumers of treated crops. Microbial insecticides also are known as biological pathogens, and biological control agents. Chemical insecticides are far more commonly used in the world than microbial control, however some microbial control agents, at least in part, can be used to replace some hazardous chemical pest control agents. A number of biological control agents formulated with bacteria, fungi, virus, pheromones, and plant extracts have been in use mainly for the control of insects responsible for the destruction of forests and agriculture crops (McDonald & Linde, 2002).