Abstract
Field survey of population of Zonocerus variegatus revealed a high fungal incidence of 76% when Sporulation tests were carried out on grasshoppers cadaver. Eight fungi with differing incidence rates were isolated. These are Fusarium sp. (8%); Beauveria bassiana (18%); Metarhizium sp. (20%); Aspergillus flavus (10%); Penicillium sp. (13%) Aspergillus niger (14%); Mucor sp. (13%) and unidentified fungus (4%). Fungal isolates virulence bioassay response showed that B. bassiana had the highest lethal time (LT50) of 2 days. Metarhizium sp with LT50 of 5 days was selected in lieu ofA. niger which does not prove to be pathogenic to grasshoppers. The results were discussed in relation to the ecology of fungal pathogens of the variegated grasshopper and their possible role in control of Z. variegatus in the agroecosystem of south west, Nigeria. Key words: Fungal ecology, entomopathogenic fungi, Zonocerus variegatus infection incidence.
Highlights
Zonocerus variegatus (L) is a voracious and destructive insect, native to the humid forest zone of West Africa (Modder, 1984)
Out of 250 field collected Z. variegatus used for this study, 90 of them died in the cage
Eight fungi species were isolated and identified (Table 1) with infection the following incidence rates: Fusarium sp. (8%); Beauveria bassiana (18%); Metarhizium sp. (20%); Aspergillus flavus (10%); Penicillium sp. (13%); Aspergillus niger (14%); Mucor sp. (13%) and an unidentified fungus (4%) (Figure 2)
Summary
Zonocerus variegatus (L) is a voracious and destructive insect, native to the humid forest zone of West Africa (Modder, 1984). It belongs to the same order (Order: Orthoptera) as locusts. Large number of insect pathogenic microorganisms referred to as entomopathogens have been identified as possible biological control agents for grasshoppers (Bidochka and Khatchatourians, 1992). Among these agents, fungi entomopathogens had been reported to have great potentials for grasshopper’s control (Prior and Greathead, 1989)
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