Effect of Metarhizium anisopliae (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on food consumption and mortality in the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an important pest of mango and citrus in Mexico. Here, we report the effect of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorokin strain MAAP1 on mortality and food consumption in A. ludens adults. Experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions at 26 +/- 2 degrees C, 60 +/- 5% RH and 12:12 photoperiod. To assess pathogenicity and sublethal effects, we sprayed flies with 1 x 10(9) conidia/ml and 1 x 10(6) conidia/ml solutions, respectively. Food consumption was measured by providing known amounts of food through capillary tubes to caged flies. We found that M. anisopliae was highly virulent to A. ludens, causing 92.3 +/- 0.62% mortality at day 13 post-exposure. Interestingly, food consumption reduced by 17% in flies exposed to the fungus. These results support the implementation of M. anisopliae within current strategies used for the integrated pest management of A. ludens.