Assessment of Binary Mixtures of Entomopathogenic Fungi and Chemical Insecticides on Biological Parameters of Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) under Laboratory and Field Conditions

Southern house mosquito, Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae), is most common agent for transferring a mass of pathogens i.e., West Nile Virus (WNV), avian pox virus (APV) etc. in rural and urban areas. To mitigate these problems study was conducted by using binary mixtures of entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana (isolates Bb-01, Bb-10), Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae (isolate Ma-11.1, Ma-2.4) and Isaria fumosorosea (isolates If-2.3, If-02)and chemical insecticides i.e., bifenthrin, lambda cyhalothrin, imidacloprid, triazophos, spinosad, pyriproxyfen and nitrinpyrum, as larvicides against C. pipiens. Highest larval percent mortality (73.3 t +/- 4.7) was observed after application of Ma-11.1(LC40) + nitenpyram (LC40) mixtures under laboratory and field conditions (71.5 +/- 7.4). The results showed a significant effect of binary treatments of fungi and chemical insecticides on biological parameters of C. pipiens and its progeny (P<0.05). The insect pathogenic fungi showed compatibility with insecticides and the combined application can improve the management program of C. pipiens.