Abstract
AbstractThe predatory pentatomid Oechalia schellenbergii (Guérin‐Méneville) feeds on larvae of Heliothis punctiger Wallengren that have died from a nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV), as well as on healthy larvae. An immunofluorescent counting method was employed to detect polyhedra in the excreta of O. schellenbergii that had fed on virus‐killed larvae, and polyhedra were detected for 3–6 d after a meal. Nymphs retained polyhedra for longer periods as food residues are retained in the midgut until after the final moult. Bioassays indicated that virus in the excreta of adults was highly infective 2 d after a virus‐infected meal, and that 27% of polyhedra were infective 4 d after a meal. Four per cent of polyhedra retained inside a nymph for 10 to 15 d were infective. Field studies indicated that both O. schellenbergii and the predatory nabid Nabis tasmanicus Remane fed frequently on virus‐killed larvae, and the role of both insects in the epizootiology of H. punctiger NPV is discussed.
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