Syndrome pré-dépressif 2/4 - La période d’état

Abstract

Digestion of Metarrhizium anisopliae spores is responsible for the release of encapsulated fungal toxins into the gut of mosquito larvae. The onset of symptoms of intoxication and subsequent death of the larvae is correlated with the total number of spores digested by the larvae. The necessity for the target insect to actively ingest and digest spores before intoxication can occur suggests that methods utilizing the pathogenicity rather than the toxicity of Metarrhizium are more promising for use in the biological control of insects.