Crop Prot 3 Beneficial Arthropods

BENIFICIAL ARTHROPODS
AND MICROORGANISM
Crop Protection 3
REJANE M. ATA, Plant Pathologist
Instructor
Rice Specialist
College of Agriculture
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
❖ COURSE OUTLINE
A. The biological word and its balancing

mechanisms
 B. Review of ecological conceptsand
principles-basisofbiological control
C. Review of basic definition of pests and
their characteristics
D. Factors that determine the existence of
an organism in an ecosystem
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the unit, the students are expected

to be able to:
A. Discuss the concepts of the biological world
and its balancing mechanisms
B. Explain the ecological concepts as bases for
biological control
C.Explain the basic explanation of pests and their
characteristics
D. Identify the factors that determine the
existence of organisms in an ecosystem
The Biological World and Its
Balancing Mechanism
HABITAT ◼ refers to the kind of place

where an organism
normally lives
Balancing Mechanism
◼ A niche is the
“occupation” of an
NICHE organism. It defines
the role of an
organism in an
ecosystem, such as a
“fish-eating wader”
for a heron, or a
“plant-juice-sipping
summer buzzer” for a
cicada.
Balancing Mechanism
B. Review of Ecological Concepts – Bases
of Biological Control
1. Biological control is:
✓ a manifestation of the natural
associations of different kinds of living
organisms:
✓ the use of living organisms to suppress
pest populations, making them less
damaging than they would otherwise be
parasite and pathogens with their hosts:
predators with their prey
2. Population of Ecology
Populations – are groups of actually
or potentially interbreeding
individuals at a given locality
Population of Ecology
The ecological study of how biotic
(living) and abiotic (non-living)
factors influence the density,
dispersion, and size of a population
Characteristics of a Populations
1. Size – changes in the

number of individuals due to:
a.environmental factors (biotic

and abiotic)
b.migrations of individuals into
or out of the local population
2. Age structure/
population structure
- in some species, all the
members at any time may be
approximately the same age
or in the same stage of
development
3. Populations are dynamic with

regards to geographic
distribution.
They tend to spread until some
limiting environmental condition is
encountered such as geographical
barriers like coast, mountain ranges,
desert boundary or absence of a
required resources like food or
habitat.
4. Populations do not
exist in isolation.
They occur in habitats in
association with other
species, forming
communities.
❖ Importance of Age Structure in Biocon
In respect to host populations in

which only one or two stages of
development are utilizable by a
particular natural enemy, a close
synchronization between natural
enemy and host life cycles must occur
if successful control of the host is to
be achieved.
❖ Importance of Population Studies in
Biocon
1. Aids in classifying the role played by natural
enemies as well as the other forces
2. In communities, trophic or nutritional association
between interacting species can be distinguished:
• Primary producers – green plants
• Primary consumers – herbivores
• Secondary consumers – carnivores,
decomposers, scavengers
C. Definition of Pests and Their
Characteristics
A pest is:
Any organism which competes with mankind for a
limited resources or is threatening to man’s
health or comfort and possessions.
Ecologically, there are no pests, only consumers.
However, when an organism begins to take what
mankind wants, that organism becomes a pest
D. Factors that Determine the Existence of
an Organism in an Ecosystem
1. Food Supply
– food is the basic need of any organism
in an ecosystem.
Insufficiency of this factor greatly
affects the other vital processes
of an organisms like growth and
development, mating and reproduction.
Potential Food Exists But is Unavailable For
Fonsumption
➢ Accidental loss of food – lice, fleas
fall off host; aphids, grasshoppers
blown by wind
➢ Interference by other species –
humans apply repellent to crops or
livestock
➢ Insect behavior. Tsetse flies don’t
feed on animals in the open. If host
is not close by shade, they will not
feed.
Fonsumption
➢ Cannibalism – If codling moth larvae

encounters another in an apple, one is
eaten despite plenty of apple for both.
➢ Affects of insect feeding on hosts – If
buffalo flies are in large numbers, their
host will take action to avoid being
bitten.
Fonsumption
➢ Nutrient deficiencies – Mite
numbers, egg production and
longevity are directly related to N2
content in leaves.
➢ Development time in mites is
indirectly related to the N2 content
in leaves.
Fonsumption
➢ Lack of food at critical time –
often dependent upon
weather
• Hover flies (syrphid) require
spring pollen for maturation
of ovaries. If plants not in
flower few eggs.
Fonsumption
➢ Lack of food at critical time –
often dependent upon weather
• Sorghum midges diapause over
winter as mature larvae,
emerging with summer rains as
adults for only 2 days and need to
find sorghum flowers in that time.
HOW DO INSECTS OVERCOME FOOD
PROBLEM?
➢ Dispersal
➢ Polyphagy – eat multiple species of
predators or plants
➢ Storage of food – social insects – ants,
bees.
2. Predator Number
The term numerical response was coined by
M.E. Solomon in 1949. It is associated with the
functional response, which is the change in
predator’s rate of prey consumption with
change in prey density.
The numerical response has two
mechanisms:
1. Demographic Response
The demographic response consists of
changes in the rates of predator
reproduction or survival due to a changes
in prey density.
The numerical response has two
mechanisms:
2. Aggregational Response
The aggregational response, as defined by
Readshaw in 1973, is a change in predator
population due to immigration into an area with
increased prey population. In an experiment
conducted by Turnbull in 1964, he observed the
consistent migration of spiders from boxes without
prey to boxes with prey. He proved that hunger
impacts prey movement.
➢ Ecological Relevance
The concept of numerical response becomes
practically important when trying to create a
strategy for pest control. The study of spiders as
a biological mechanism for pest control has
driven much of the research on aggregational
response.
3. Habitat Advantage –
the type of soil in a habitat influences an
insect’s distribution and abundance and is
easily disturbed by agriculture, e.g. Irrigation
changes moisture and subsequently, the type
of pest in a crop.
Chemicals in soil affect plant growth and
therefore the dependent insects.
Chapter 2
CONCEPTS OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF

AGRICULTURAL PESTS
A. Definition and concepts of biological
control
➢ The use of living natural enemies to control

pests
➢ The active manipulation of antagonistic
organisms to reduce pest population
densities, either animal or plant, to non
economically important levels.
➢ These may be predators, parasites,
parasitoids, pathogens, or competitors of the
pest that is to be controlled.
Four major ways in which these “natural
enemies” or “antagonistic organisms” can
be put to work.
➢ Augmentive Biological Control,

➢ Classical Biological Control (otherwise known
as Inoculative Biological Control),
➢ Inundative Biological Control, and
➢ Manipulative Biological Control.
1. Augmentative Biological Control
➢ Release of large numbers of biological

control agent to supplement the small
numbers already present, in expectation
of a greatly increased effect.
➢ The release of additional numbers of a
natural enemy when too few are present
to control a pest effectively
2. Classical Biological Control
(Inoculative Biological Control)
➢ Importation and release of biological

control agents into an area in which they
are not already present, with intent to
establish a permanent population.
3. Inundative Biological Control
➢ Release of large numbers of biological

control agent relative to the numbers of a
target species, in expectation of a rapid
effect. There is no implication that the
released biological control agent will
establish a permanent population.
➢ Example: Periodically releasing
Trichogramma spp. egg parasitic wasps to
destroy moth eggs
4. Manipulative Biological Control
➢ The manipulation of elements in the

environment to enhance the numbers and/or
actions of natural enemies.
Example: Channels are dug in a saltmarsh to

connect pools of water. This allows naturally-
occurring predatory fish to gain access to pools
and eat mosquito larvae.
B. Unique characteristics of pests as it
affect biological control strategies
1. Adaptability
➢ Pests particularly insects have great
capabilities for adapting to many different
environmental conditions. Insects have specific
adaptations like defense mechanism,
protective coloration and protective mimicry
which may hinder or render biological control
strategies ineffective.
2. High reproductive potential and abundance –

this characteristics can render biological control
strategies less effective especially if natural
enemies are few in number.
3. Capacity for flight – this characteristics makes it
difficult for a parasite or predator to catch up with
the host or prey..
4. Protective retreats –
insect pests live in burrows,
nests, bags, tunnels or galls
serving as protective for
them not to be reached by
either a predator or a
parasite.
C. Types of host plant resistance affecting
the pests
Definition of an Insect-Resistant Plant:
Plant resistance
Defined as “the consequence of heritable plant
qualities that result in a plant being relatively less
damaged than a plant without the qualities”. In
practical agricultural terms, an insect-resistant
crop cultivar is one that yield more than a
susceptible cultivar when confronted with insect
pest invasion.
the pests
Effect of Insect Pest-Plant Host Relationship
Insect-resistant crop varieties suppress insect

pest abundance or elevate the damage
tolerance level of the plants. In other words,
insect-resistant plants alter the relationship an
insect pest has with its plant host.
the pests
How the relationship between the insect and

plant is affected depends on the kind of
resistance, e.g. antibiosis, antixenosis (non-
preference), or tolerance.
the pests
Antibiosis resistance affects the biology of the

insect so pest abundance and subsequent
damage is reduced compared to that which
would have occurred if the insect was on a
susceptible crop variety.
the pests
Antixenosis resistance affects the behavior of

an insect pest and usually is expressed as non-
preference of the insect for a resistance plant
compared with a susceptible plant.
the pests
Tolerance is resistance in which a plant is able

to withstand or recover from damage caused
by insect pest abundance equal to that
damaging a plant without resistance characters
(susceptible). Tolerance is a plant response to
an insect pest.
Advantages to the Use of Insect-Resistant
Crop Varieties
➢ Economically
➢ Ecologically
➢ Environmentally advantageous
Crop Varieties
➢ The IPM concept stresses the need to use

multiple tactics to maintain insect pest
abundance and damage below levels of
economic significance. Thus, a major
advantage to the use of insect-resistant
crop varieties as a component of IPM
arises from the ecological compatibility
and compatibility with other direct control
tactics.
Crop Varieties
➢ The IPM concept stresses the need to use

multiple tactics to maintain insect pest
abundance and damage below levels of
economic significance. Thus, a major
advantage to the use of insect-resistant
crop varieties as a component of IPM
arises from the ecological compatibility
and compatibility with other direct control
tactics.
Chapter 3
NATURE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
AGENTS
NATURE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS
A. Parasitoids, Pathogens and predators of Insect

and Vertebrate Pests
1. Parasitoids
The term parasitoid was coined in 1913 by the
German writer O.M. Reuter (and adopted in English
by his reviewer, William Morton Wheeler) during its
development, the parasite lives in or on the body of
a single host individual, eventually killing that host,
the adult parasitoid being free-living.
Parasitoids
About 10% of described insect species are
entomophagous parasitoids.
Four insect orders that are particularly renowned for

this type of life history.
A. By far the majority are in the order Hymenoptera.

The largest and best-known group comprises the so-
called “Parasitica” within the Hymenopteran suborder
Apocrita: the largest subgroups of these are the
chalcidoid wasps (superfamily Chalcidoidea) and the
ichneumon wasps (superfamily Ichneumonoidae),
followed by the Proctotrupoidea.
Hymenoptera
B. The flies (order Diptera) include several

families of parasitoids, the largest of which is
the family Tachnidae, and also smaller families
such as Pipunculidae, Conopidae, and others
B. The flies (order Diptera)

For example Phoridae have already been
mentioned as parasitoidal on ants, and at least
some flesh fly species, such as Emblemasoma
auditrix, are parasitoidal on cicadas, and have
raised great interest because they locate their
hosts by sound.
B. The flies (order Diptera)

C. The “twisted-wing parasites” (order

Strepsiptera), which is a small group consisting
entirely of parasitoids.
D. The beetles (order Coleoptera),

which includes at least two families,
Ripiphordae and Rhipiceridae, tha
are largely parasitoids, and rove
beetles (family Staphylinidae) of the
genus Aleochara. Occational
members of others can be
parasitoids; one of the remarkable is
the moth family Epipyropidae, which
are ectoparasitoids of planthoppers
and Cicadas.
2. Predators
a. Lady Beetles
Often called ladybugs, lady beetles are the
most familiar Insect predator. Most adult lady
Beetles are round to oval, brightly colored and
often spotted.
Lady beetle larvae are

elongated, usually dark colored,
and flecked with orange or
yellow
Adult and larvae feed on large
numbers of small, soft-bodied
insects such as aphids. One
group of small, black lady
beetles (Stethorus) is important
in controlling spider mites and
others specialize in scale insects.
b. Green Lacewings
Several green lacewing species
(Figure 8) are commonly
found in gardens. The adult
stage is familiar to most
gardeners: a pale green insect
with large, clear, highly-veined
wings that are held over the
body when at rest.
Green lacewings lay a

distinctive stalked egg.
Lacewing larvae emerge in
four to 10 days. These
larvae, sometimes called
aphid lions, are voracious
predators capable of
feeding on small
caterpillars and beetles, as
well as aphids and other
insects.
c. Syrphid Flies
These flies are called by several
names, such as flower flies or
hover flies./ Most are brightly
colored, yellow or orange and
black, and may resemble bees or
yellowjacket wasps. However,
sryphid flies are harmless to
people. Usually they can be seen
feeding on flowers.
d. Predatory Bugs
True bugs (Order: Hemiptera) are
predators of insects and mites. All
feed by piercing the prey with their
narrow mouthparts and sucking out
body fluids. A red and black species
of predatory stink bug, capable of
feeding on fairly large insects such
as caterpillars and potato beetle
larvae, is most conspicuous.
e. Ground Beetles
Various species of ground
beetles are found under debris,
in soil cracks or moving along
the ground. Immature stages
are distinctly different from
adults and more often are
found within the top few inches
of soil.
e. Ground Beetles
Ground beetles are general feeders
with powerful jaws./ Almost any
garden pest that spends part or all
of its life on the soil surface may be
prey for these insects
f. Mantids
Mantids are uncommon in most of
Colorado but are familiar insects to
most gardeners. Mantids are
general predators that feed on
almost any insects of the right size.
f. Mantids
They have one generations
per year with winter spent
as eggs within a pod. One
species of mantids, the
Chinese mantid, is
sometimes available for
sale.
g. Hunting Wasps
A large number of wasps
from several families prey on
insect pest. Many take their
prey, whole or in pieces, back
to their mud, soil or paper
nests to feed to the immature
wasps. These hunting wasps
can be important in
controlling Garden insect
pests.
g. Hunting Wasps
For example, the common

Polistes paper wasps, when
hunting, may thoroughly
search plants and feed on
caterpillars, often providing
substantial control of these
insects.
h. Predatory Mites
Several mite species are predators

of plant-feeding spider mites.
Typically, these predatory mites
are a little larger than spider
mites but are more rounded in
shape and faster moving than
their prey. Predatory mites often
can provide good control of spider
mites.
i. Spiders
All spiders feed on insects or
other small arthropods Most
people are familiar with many
common web-making species.
However, there are many
others spiders – wolf spiders,
crab spiders, jumping spiders –
that do not build webs but
instead move about and hunt
their prey on soil or plants.
i. Spiders
These less conspicuous spiders can
be important in controlling insect
pests such as beetles, caterpillars,
leafhoppers and aphids.
3. Pathogens of Insects
Pathogens are viruses or

microorganisms that cause
disease. Like all other
organisms, insects are
susceptible to a variety of
diseases caused by pathogens.
Pathogens of Insects
Many of these pathogens cause disease that are

acute and fatal and therefore are used as model to
study processes of infection and pathogenesis as
well as to control populations of insects that are
pests or vectors of plant and animals diseases.
Generally, insect pathogens have a relatively narrow
host range and thus are considered to be more
environmentally friendly than synthetic chemical
insecticides.
The pathogens that cause disease in insects fall into

four main groups:
• viruses
• bacteria
• fungi and;
• protozoa.
This article discusses the primary biological properties
of each these pathogen groups, with specific emphasis
on how these pathogens have been used to benefit
humans.
a. Viruses
.Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, meaning that they

can reproduce only in living cells and are composed in the
simplest form of a nucleic acid, either DNA or RNA, and a
protein shell referred to as the capsid. More complex viruses
also contain a lipoprotein envelop.
a. Viruses
.The most common and effective

type of insect viruses are the
baculoviruses;
• infect over 600 insect species
worldwide.
• Most baculoviruses infect
caterpillars, which are the
immature form of moths and
butterflies.
Life Cycle of Insect Viruses
.
a. Viruses
.In general, insect viruses are divided into two
broad nontaxonomic categories;
1. Occluded viruses
2. Non occluded viruses
Occluded viruses
.After formation in infected
cells, the mature virus particles
(virions) are occluded within a
protein matrix, forming a
paracrystalline bodies that are
generically referred to as either
inclusion or occlusion bodies.
Non occluded viruses

.the virions occur freely or occasionally form
paracrytalline arrays of virioins that are also
known as inclusion bodies. These, however, have
no occlusion body protein interspersed among
the virioins.
The five most commonly encountered types of
insect viruses are iridoviruses, cytoplasmic
polyhedrosis viruses, entomopoxviruses,
ascoviruses, and baculoviruses.
1. Iridoviruses
.
Nonoccluded viruses with a linear double-
stranded DNA genome, the iridoviruses (family
Iridoviridae) produce large, enveloped,
icosahedral virions (125-200 nm) that replicate in
the cytoplasm of a wide range of tissues in
infected hosts.
Virions form paracrytalline arrays in infected
tissues, imparting an iridescent hue to infected
hosts, from which the name of this virus group is
derived.
1. Iridoviruses
Over
. 30 types are known,
and these have been most
commonly reported from
larval stages of Diptera
larvae, such as mosquito
larvae, as well as from
larvae of Coleoptera and
Lepidoptera.
2. Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Viruses
• The cytoplasmic polyhydosis viruses (family

Reoviridae) are occluded double stranded RNA
. viruses
• A genome divided into 9 or 10 segments of RNA.
• These viruses, commonly referred to as CPVs,
cause a chronic disease and reproduce only in
the stomach of insects, where typically they
from large (ca. 0.5-2 im) polyhedral to spherical
occlusion bodies in the cytoplasm of midgut
epithelial cells.
.
• Infection in early instars retards growth and

development, extending the larval phase by
. weeks.
• The disease is often fatal.

• In advance stages of disease, the infected
midgut is white rather than translucent brown,
because of large numbers of accumulated
polyhydra.
.• relatively common among lepidopterous

insects and among dipterous insects of the
suborder Nematocera (e.g., mosquitoes,
blackflies, midges).
• CPVs are typically easy to transmit by feeding
to species that belong to the same family of
the host from which they were isolated, and
thus the host range of this virus type is quite
broad.
3. Entomopoxviruses
• The entomopoxviruss (family Poxviridae) are

occluded double-stranded DNA viruses that produce
large, enveloped virions (150 nm X 300 nm) that
.
replicate in the cytoplasm of a wide range of tissues
in most hosts, causing an acute, fatal disease.
• Occlusion bodies vary from being oval to spindle
shaped and generally occlude 100 or more virions.
3. Entomopoxviruses
• Most commonly reported from coleopterans, from

which there are over 30 isolates, but they are also
known from lepidopterous, dipterous (midges), and
.
orthop-terous (grasshoppers) insects.
• Easily transmitted by feeding, although where the
experimental host range of individual isolates has
been tested, it has been found to be relatively
narrow, generally being restricted to closely related
species.
3. Entomopoxviruses
.
4. Ascoviruses
• The ascoviruses (Ascoviridae) are a new
family of DNA viruses, at present known only
from larvae of species in the lepidopteran
. family Noctuidae, where they have been
reported from several common pest species
such as the cabbage looper, cotton budworm,
corn earworm, and fall armyworm.
• Ascoviruses cause a chronic, fatal disease of
larvae.
4. Ascoviruses
.
4. Ascoviruses
• An interesting ascovirus feature is that transmission
from host to host depends on vectoring by female
endoparasitic wasps. Ascoviruses are very difficult to
. transmit by feeding, with typical infection rates
averaging less than 15% even when larvae are fed
thousands of vesicles in a single dose.
• In contrast, infection rates for caterpillars injected
with as few as 10 virion-containing vesicles are
typically greater than 90%, and experiments with
parasitic wasps show that these insects can transmit
ascoviruses.
5. Baculoviruses
• Baculoviruses (family
Baculoviridae) are large,
enveloped, double-stranded,
. occluded DNA viruses. These
viruses are divided into two
main types, commonly
known as the nuclear
polyhedrosis viruses (NPVs)
and the granulosis viruses
(GVs).
5. Baculoviruses
• Both NPVs and GVs are highly

infectious by feeding, and in some
. insect species periodically cause
epizootics, that is, widespread
outbreaks of disease, that result in
significant (>90%) declines in
caterpillar populations.
5. Baculoviruses
• Both NPVs and GVs are highly

infectious by feeding, and in some
. insect species periodically cause
epizootics, that is, widespread
outbreaks of disease, that result in
significant (>90%) declines in
caterpillar populations.
6. Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus
• known from a wide range of insect

orders but have been most
. commonly reported by far from
lepidopterous insects, from which
well over 500 isolates are known.
NPVs replicate in the nuclei of cells,
generally causing an acute fatal
disease.
6. Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus
• similar to those of NPVs but contain only

one nucleocapsid per envelope. GVs are
. known only from lepidopterous insects.
Like NPVs, they initially replicate in the
cell nucleus, but pathogenesis involves
early lysis of the nucleus (as virions
begin to assemble), which in the NPVs
occurs only after most polyhedral have
formed.
Nuclear Polyhedrosis Viruses (NPVs) and Granulosis
Viruses (GVs)
.
7. Granulosis Virus
• The virions are large (80-200 nm X 280

nm) and consist of one or more rod-
. shaped nucleocapsids with a double-
stranded circular DNA genome enclosed
in an envelope. The occlusion bodies of
NPVs are referred to commonly as
polyhedral because typically their shape
is polyhedral.
Use of Viruses as Insect Control Agents
• The best example of the use of a virus as an

. insect control agents is the use of the NPV
of the European spruce sawfly, Gilpinia
hercyniae, as a classical biological control
agents. The European spruce sawfly was
introduced into eastern Canada from
northern Europe around the turn of the last
century and had become a severe forest
pest by the 1930s.
• Hymenopteran parasitoids were introduced

. from Europe in the mid-1930s as part of a
biological control effort, and inadvertently
along with these came the NPV, which was
first detected in 1936. Natural epizootics
caused by the virus began in 1938, by
which time the sawfly had spread over
31,000 km2.
• Most sawfly populations were reduced to

. below economic threshold levels by 1943
and remain under natural control today,
the control being affected by a combination
of the NPV, which accounts for more than
90% of the control, and the wasp
parasitoids.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Insect Viruses
for Controlling Pests
Advantages
➢ Insect viruses are unable to infect mammals,

including humans, which makes them very safe
to handle.
➢ Most insect viruses are relatively specific, so the
risk of non-target effects on beneficial insects is
very low.
➢ Many viruses occur naturally and may already be
present in the environment.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Insect Viruses
for Controlling Pests
Disadvantages
➢ Most insect viruses take several days to kill their host

insect, during which the pest is still causing damage.
➢ Insect death is also dose dependent, and very high
doses are often necessary for adequate control.
➢ As insects age, they can become less susceptible to
virus infection, so viruses are usually only effective
against early larval life stages.
b. Bacteria
• Bacteria are relatively

. simple unicellular
microorganisms that lack
internal organelles such as a
nucleus and mitochondria,
and reproduce by binary
fission
b. Bacteria
• A variety of bacteria are capable
of causing diseases in insects
1. spore-forming bacilli (family
.
Bacillaceae) especially B.
thuringiensis. Many subspecies of
Bt are used as bacterial insecticides
and as a source of genes for
insecticidal proteins added to make
transgenic plant resistant to insect
attack, especially attack by
caterpillars and beetles.
b. Bacteria
2. Bacillus sphaericus
.• toxic to certain mosquito
species.
• Like Bt, Bs acquires its
toxicity as the result of
protein endotox-ins that
are produced during
sporulation and
assembled into par-
asporal bodies.
b. Bacteria
3. Paenibacillus popilliae
• highly fastidious bacterium that is
. the primary eti-ologial agent of
the so-called milky diseases of
scarab larvae.
• These insects are the immature
stages of beetles, such as the
Japanese beetle, Popillia
japonica, that are important grass
and plant pests belonging to the
coleopteran family Scarabaeidae.
b. Bacteria
3. Paenibacillus popilliae
• The term “milky disease” is derived from the
. opaque white color that characterizes diseased
larvae and results from the accumulation of
sporulating bacteria in larval hemolymph
(blood).
• The disease is initiated when grubs feeding on
the roots and vegetative cells invade the
midgut epithelium, where they grow and
reproduce, changing in form as they progress
toward invasion of the homocoel (body cavity).
b. Bacteria
4. Serratia entomophila
• A novel bacterium named. S.
. entomophila cause amber
disease in the grass grub,
Costelystra zealandica an
important pest of pastures in
New Zealand, and has been
developed as a biological
control agent for this pest
b. Bacteria
4. Serratia entomophila
• This bacterium adheres to the chitinous
. intima of the foregut, where it grows
extensively, eventually causing the
larvae to develop an amber color; the
result of infection is death.
c. FUNGI
The fungi constitute a

large and diverse group of
.eukaryotic organisms
distinguished from others
by the presence of a cell
wall, as in plants, but
lacking chloroplasts and
thus the ability to carry
out photosynthesis.
c. FUNGI
Fungi live either as

.saprophyte or as parasites
of plants and animals, and
require organic food for
growth, obtained by
absorption from the
substrates on which they
live.
c. FUNGI
The vegetative phase,

known as a thallus, can be
either unicellular, as in
yeasts, or multicellular and
filamentous, forming a
mycelium, the latter being
characteristic for most of
the fungi that attack
insects.
c. FUNGI
During vegetative growth,

the mycelium consists
primarily of hyphae, which
may be septate or
nonseptate, and these
grow throughout the
substrate to acquire
nutrients.
c. FUNGI
c. FUNGI
c. FUNGI
➢ Reproduction can be sexual or asexual,

and during this phase the mycelium
produces specialized structures such as
motile spores, sporangia, and conidia,
typically the agents by which fungi
infect insects.
➢ Fungi usually grow best under wet or
moist conditions, and those that are
saprophyte as well as many of the
parasitic species are easily cultured on
artificial media.
c. FUNGI
➢ The fungi are divided into five

major subdivisions, and these
reflect the evolution of the biology
of fungi from aquatic to terrestrial
habitats.
species of the genera Coelomomyces
and Lagenidium (subdivision
Mastigomycotina) are aquatic and
produce motile zoospores during
reproduction
c. FUNGI
➢ whereas members of the genera

Metarhizium and Beauveria
(subdivision Deuteromycotina)
are terrestrial and reproduce
and disseminate via nonmotile
conidia.
c. FUNGI
➢ several isolates of M. anisopliae,

for example, have been used to
control orthopteran (locust)
pests in Africa and the Middle
East, and the use of strains of
this species to control the
mosquito vectors of malaria are
underway in Africa
Aquatic Fungi
➢ Aquatic fungi of two types that attack

mosquito larvae have received
considerable study: species of
Coelomomyces (class Chytridiomucetes:
order Blastocladiales) and Lagenidium
giganteum (class Oomycetes: order
Lagenidium).
➢ Coelomomyces kills greater than 95% of
the larval populations
Terrestrial Fungi
➢ selected species of hyphomycetes

such as M. anisopliae and B.
bassiana for use as microbial
insecticides.
Terrestrial Fungi
➢ Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus

that grows upon insect host cuticle.
The main enzyme involved in this
growth appears to be a subtilisin-like
serine protease [1] that initiates
protein degradation. This is the
major protein secreted into the host
cuticle during invasion
Metarhizium anisopliae
Terrestrial Fungi
➢ B. bassiana- Entomopathogenic fungi are

significant factors in natural insect
epizootic infections worldwide.
Particularly, Beauveria bassiana can infect
more than 700 insect species from all the
major insect orders (1). Like other insect-
pathogenic fungi, B. bassiana penetrates
the insect integument and makes its way
toward the insect hemocoel, where it
proliferates and causes the death of the
hosts.
B. bassiana
Terrestrial Fungi
➢ B. bassiana and M. anisopliae is being

targeted for control of insects that live in
cooler and moist environments, such as
beetle larvae in soil and planthoppers on
rice, though the formers species is also
being evaluated against whiteflies in
glasshouses, as well as grasshoppers,
especially locusts, in field crops
ENTOMOPHTHORALES
➢ These fungi comprise a large order of the class

Zygomycetes that contains numerous genera,
many species of which are commonly found
parasitizing insects and other arthropods.
➢ The fungi routinely cause localized and
sometimes widespread epizootics in
populations of hemipterous and homopterous
insects, particularly aphids and leafhoppers,
but also in insects of other types such as
grasshoppers, flies, beetle larvae, and
caterpillars.
ENTOMOPHTHORALES
➢ As with Coelomomyces, however, the complex

nutritional requirements, which have thus far
prevented mass production in vitro, and high
degree of host specificity, make these fungi
poor candidates for development as microbial
insecticides.
➢ The most important genera found attacking
insects insects in the field are Conidiobolus
(aphids), Erynia (aphids), Entomophthora
(aphids), Zoophthora (aphids, caterpillars,
beetle) and Entomophaga (grasshoppers,
caterpillars).
CLASS HYPHOMYCETES
➢ As with Coelomomyces, however, the complex

nutritional requirements, which have thus far
prevented mass production in vitro, and high
degree of host specificity, make these fungi
poor candidates for development as microbial
insecticides.
➢ The most important genera found attacking
insects insects in the field are Conidiobolus
(aphids), Erynia (aphids), Entomophthora
(aphids), Zoophthora (aphids, caterpillars,
beetle) and Entomophaga (grasshoppers,
caterpillars).
d. PROTOZOA
➢ Protozoa
• Eukaryotic unicellular motile microorganisms
that belong to what is now known as the
kingdom Protista.
➢ Members of this kingdom can be free-living
and saprophytic, commential, symbiotic, or
parasitic. The cell contains a variety of
organelles, but no cell wall, and cells vary
greatly in size and shape among different
species.
d. PROTOZOA
➢ protozoan,
• single-celled
• heterotrophic (using organic
carbon as a source of energy),
• microscopic.
• eukaryotes
• possess a “true,” or
membrane-bound, nucleus.
d. PROTOZOA
d. PROTOZOA
➢ These epizootics attracted interest in the possibility

of using protozoa to control pest insects, and over
the past several decades numerous studies have
been aimed at evaluating this potential.
➢ the group with the most potential – the
microsporidia – is described in terms of general
biology and possible use in insect control.
General Biology of Microsporidia
➢ The microsporidia (phylum

Microspora) are the most
common and best studied of
the protozoans.
➢ Cause important diseases of
insects. Although still
referred to as protozoa,
recent molecular phylogeny-
tic studies have shown that
these pathogens evolved
from fungi.
General Biology of Microsporidia
➢ Well over a 1000 species are known, and most of

these have been described from insects.
➢ Microsporidia have been most commonly
described from insects of the orders Coleoptera,
Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Orthoptera, but they are
also known from other orders and probably occur
in all.
Microsporidia as Biological Control Agents
➢ Naturally occurring epizootics caused by

microsporidia are periodically very effective in
significantly reducing insect pest populations.
➢ The problem is that these epizootics cannot be
predicted with any degree of accuracy, nor can
they be relied upon for adequate control, even
though many of the conditions that facilitate
their occurrence are known.
Microsporidia as Biological Control Agents
➢ Naturally occurring epizootics caused by

microsporidia are periodically very effective in
significantly reducing insect pest populations.
➢ The problem is that these epizootics cannot be
predicted with any degree of accuracy, nor can
they be relied upon for adequate control, even
though many of the conditions that facilitate
their occurrence are known.
B. Antagonist of Plant Pathogens
Antagonism – The Mechanism of

Biocontrol
➢ Biological control is principally
achieved through antagonism (the
inhibitory relationships between
microorganisms including plants)
which involves: (i) amensalism i.e.
antibiosis and lysis, (ii) competition,
and (iii) parasitism and predation.
➢ Amensalism (Antibiosis and Lysis)

Amensalism is a phenomenon where one
population adversely affects the growth of
another population whilst itself being
unaffected by the other population.
Antibiosis is a situation where the metabolites
secreted by organism A inhibit organism B, but
organism A is not affected. It may be lethal also.
Metabolites penetrate the cell wall and inhibit
its activity by chemical toxicity.
➢ Amensalism (Antibiosis and Lysis)

Amensalism is a phenomenon where one
population adversely affects the growth of
another population whilst itself being
unaffected by the other population.
Antibiosis is a situation where the metabolites
secreted by organism A inhibit organism B, but
organism A is not affected. It may be lethal also.
Metabolites penetrate the cell wall and inhibit
its activity by chemical toxicity.
Competition
➢ Among microorganisms competition

exists for nutrients, including oxygen and
space but not for water potential,
temperature or Ph. Amensalism involves
the combined action of certain chemicals
such as toxins, antibiotics and lytic
enzymes.

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BENIFICIAL ARTHROPODS

A. The biological word and its balancing

At the end of the unit, the students are expected

HABITAT ◼ refers to the kind of place

1. Size – changes in the

a.environmental factors (biotic

3. Populations are dynamic with

In respect to host populations in

➢ Cannibalism – If codling moth larvae

CONCEPTS OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF

➢ The use of living natural enemies to control

➢ Augmentive Biological Control,

➢ Release of large numbers of biological

➢ Importation and release of biological

➢ Release of large numbers of biological

➢ The manipulation of elements in the

Example: Channels are dug in a saltmarsh to

2. High reproductive potential and abundance –

Insect-resistant crop varieties suppress insect

How the relationship between the insect and

Antibiosis resistance affects the biology of the

Antixenosis resistance affects the behavior of

Tolerance is resistance in which a plant is able

➢ The IPM concept stresses the need to use

➢ The IPM concept stresses the need to use

A. Parasitoids, Pathogens and predators of Insect

Four insect orders that are particularly renowned for

A. By far the majority are in the order Hymenoptera.

B. The flies (order Diptera) include several

B. The flies (order Diptera)

B. The flies (order Diptera)

C. The “twisted-wing parasites” (order

D. The beetles (order Coleoptera),

Lady beetle larvae are

Green lacewings lay a

For example, the common

Several mite species are predators

Pathogens are viruses or

Many of these pathogens cause disease that are

The pathogens that cause disease in insects fall into

.Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites, meaning that they

.The most common and effective

Non occluded viruses

• The cytoplasmic polyhydosis viruses (family

• Infection in early instars retards growth and

• The disease is often fatal.

2. Cytoplasmic Polyhedrosis Viruses

.• relatively common among lepidopterous

• The entomopoxviruss (family Poxviridae) are

• Most commonly reported from coleopterans, from

• Both NPVs and GVs are highly

• Both NPVs and GVs are highly

• known from a wide range of insect

• similar to those of NPVs but contain only

• The virions are large (80-200 nm X 280

• The best example of the use of a virus as an

• Hymenopteran parasitoids were introduced

• Most sawfly populations were reduced to

➢ Insect viruses are unable to infect mammals,