SURVEY AND ISOLATION OF NATURAL INCIDENCE OF DIFFERENT FUNGAL PATHOGENS AGAINST HOUSE FLIES IN DIFFERENT URBAN HABITATS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The investigation on survey of entomopathogenic fungi and isolation against house fly, Musca domestica L. (Muscidae: Diptera) were carried out during 2010-2011 at the Department of Entomology, UAS, Bengaluru and Bio Control Research Laboratory, Pest Control India Private Limited, Bengaluru. Surveys were carried out once in eight days during August to September 2010 in poultry farm, dairy farm, piggery farm and slaughter house in Bengaluru and surrounding areas for natural occurrence of fungal pathogens on house flies. House fly is a well known nuisance pest in all the visited farms and this species is also found in association with human activities, cattle units, poultry farms, and piggery farm. In all the visited farms, insecticides like Deltamethrin, Ektomin, Dichlorovas and pest-o-flash (light trap) are currently being used for managing the house fly. Soil baiting with larvae of Galleria mellonella yielded two isolates representing two genera, Beauveria bassiana and Metarrizium anisopliae from three different locations. No fungus was recovered from the UAS, GKVK Piggery farm. The survey revealed that incidence of fungal species in all farm sectors. House fly population was not widely prevalent in all the locations surveyed. Only two fungal species viz., B. bassiana and Aspergillus flavus were isolated during the survey and there was no epizootic incidence of fungal pathogens during this period. Future studies should be carried out by using different methods of isolation of fungus from naturally occurring house flies.