The scientific community working in the field of insect pathology is experiencing an increasing academic and industrial interest in the discovery and development of new bioinsecticides as environmentally friendly pest control tools to be integrated, in combination or rotation, with chemicals in pest management programs. In this scientific context, market data report a significant growth of the ...

The interaction of two gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) pathogens, a nucleopolyhedrosis virus (LdNPV) and a fungus (Entomophaga maimaiga), were studied by assessing mortality among dually inoculated hosts. When fourth and fifth instar gypsy moths were inoculated with a range of doses of LdNPV and a fixed dose of E. maimaiga on the same day, the majority of larvae died from E. maimaiga infections r...

Toxin complex (Tc) proteins are a class of bacterial protein toxins that form large, multisubunit complexes. Comprising TcA, B, and C components, they are of great interest because many exhibit potent insecticidal activity. Here we report the structure of a novel Tc, Yen-Tc, isolated from the bacterium Yersinia entomophaga MH96, which differs from the majority of bacterially derived Tcs in that...

1. Dutky. S. R., J. v. Thompson, and G. E. Cantwell. 1964. A technique for the mass propagation of the DD-136 nematode. J. Insect Pathol. 6: 417-422. 2. Kaya, H. K., and A. H. Hara. 1980. Differential susceptibility of lepidopterous pupae to infect/on by the nematode Neoaplectana carpocapsae. J. Invertebr. Pathol. 36:389-393. 3. Kaya, H. K., and P. G. Hotchkin. 1981. The nematode Neoaplectana c...

In 1995 and 1996, we conducted a study of the hymenopteran parasitoids of macrolepidopteran larvae in the George Washington National Forest (GWNF), Augusta County, Virginia, and the Monongahela National Forest (MNF), Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Macrolepidopteran larvae were collected from canopy foliage and from under canvas bands placed around tree boles. A total of 115 macrolepidopteran...

Population cycles in forest Lepidoptera often result from recurring density-dependent epizootics of entomopathogens. While these systems are typically dominated by a single pathogen species, insects are often infected by multiple pathogens, yet little is known how pathogens interact to affect host dynamics. The apparent invasion of northeastern North America by the fungal entomopathogen Entomop...

Mounting scientific evidence indicates that pathogens can regulate insect populations. However, limited dispersal and sensitivity to abiotic conditions often restricts pathogen regulation of host populations. While it is well established that arthropod biological vectors increase pathogen incidence in host populations, few studies have examined whether arthropod mechanical vectors (an organism ...