Effect of Beauveria bassiana Fungal Infection on Survival and Feeding Behavior of Pine-Tree Lappet Moth (Dendrolimus pini L.)

Research highlights: The pine-tree lappet moth, Dendrolimus pini, can cause serious needle defoliation on pines with outbreaks occurring over large geographical areas. Under laboratory conditions, the promising potential of the naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana was tested against D. pini larvae as a biological control method. Background and objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the most effective concentration and treatment dose of B. bassiana conidial suspension and how it affected the survival and feeding behavior of the pest. Materials and methods: The first experiment applied the fungal suspension directly on the back of selected larvae, and in the second experiment, sporulating cadavers obtained in the first experiment were placed into Petri dishes with healthy individuals. Different doses per larvae [µL] and spore suspension concentration [spores/µL]) were used. The second experiment was designed to investigate the horizontal transmission of fungi by exposing individual caterpillars to a cadaver covered in B. bassiana mycelia. Mortality rates were analyzed by Chi-squared tests using absolute values for total mortality and B. bassiana- attributed mortality. The lethal time and feeding-disruption speed were analyzed with parametric and non-parametric tests with the aim to determine whether statistically significant differences were observed between treatments. Results: Analysis of lethal time revealed that the 20 µL dose and 7.9 × 104 concentration yielded highest mortality, but also the average dieback rate of 9.4 days was significantly faster compared to all other treatments. In order to see whether insects stopped feeding after infection with B. bassiana, larvae weight loss was examined. Results showed that effective treatments induced change in the feeding behavior of infected larvae. The feeding disruption caused by the 20 µL treatment occurred on average 5.5 days after exposure or 3.9 days before the final dieback of larvae.