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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #358697
Research Project: Management of Filth Flies

Location: Mosquito and Fly Research

Title: Combining bacteria with Beauveria bassiana to improve house fly (Musca domestica) management

Author
item JOHNSON, DANA
item Geden, Christopher - Chris
item WEEKS, EMMA - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item LOVULLO, ERIC

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Abstract only.

Technical Abstract: The common house fly (Musca domestica L.) is a widely distributed, non-biting pest that poses a public health and agricultural concern. Their high fecundity and short development time can rapidly lead to overwhelming population sizes, especially in animal production units. House flies are resistant to most insecticides used today, making them a difficult synanthropic pest to control. The use of biological control has been receiving increased attention due to low environmental impact and deserves more investigation, especially entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana. As B. bassiana can take >7 days to kill house flies, this study aimed to reduce the lethal time (LT) by combining gram-negative bacteria with B. bassiana to enhance virulence. The three bacterial strains chosen for investigation were Photorhabdus temperata NC19, Serratia marcescens Db11, and Pseudomonas protegens pf5. The overall objective of this study was to apply a compatible bacteria with B. bassiana to reduce the LT90 in adult house flies. Preliminary compatibility studies were performed, as well as selection of an adequate pathogen surfactant. Topical treatments of combined pathogens were applied to the house fly thorax. No significant reduction in LT90 was recorded in B. bassiana combined with S. marcescens or P. temperata, however, significant reduction in LT90 was observed when P. protegens and B. bassiana were combined, indicating a complementary action. These findings suggest that the addition of P. protegens can enhance effectiveness of B. bassiana. Moreover, the results suggest that P. protegens, which as known as a plant-protecting species, has potential as a fly management tool.